


The Hidden Abilities of Sheriff 111

by heartheldhostage



Category: Eureka
Genre: Explicit love scene, M/M, Non canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 07:29:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10212548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartheldhostage/pseuds/heartheldhostage
Summary: People always underestimated Jack Carter, and that's exactly how he wanted it. Or that's how he wanted it until the day his secret had to be revealed in order to save the genius bane of his existence. Now the consortium is back with an agenda that threatens the entire world.





	

The Hidden Abilities of Sheriff 111

~~~~~

Jack Carter was an honest man, mostly. Like anyone else, he would tell a little white lie now and then, but overall he was honest. There was one thing he was never honest about, however: his intelligence.

  
Jack learned at a young age that his all-American looks and his physical prowess in sports combined to elicit a particular set of expectations of him in the vast majority of people he met. He quickly became adept at using those expectations.

  
The less people expected of him, the less pressure Jack was under. He used those expectations to avoid the more difficult classes his parents would have wanted him to take in school. He used them to avoid the paperwork that he hated when his partner's simply assumed they could do it better and faster.

  
Most importantly, he used them to keep suspects overconfident and off kilter. Who would expect the blond, blue eyed all-American boy who seemingly didn't understand much about technology to catch the most wanted hacker in California? Certainly not the hacker.

  
Jack could have become the type of person to use people for selfish reasons. He didn't. Jack came from a family of law enforcement officers. He learned a hard lesson from the car crash and Angela's death when he was a teenager. His own nature was that of a protector. That and more combined to keep him from being a selfish person and led him to lead a life serving others.

  
Jack spent years cultivating the simple, goofball image that was most people's first impression of him no matter how he greeted them. That image not only assisted him in becoming a U. S. Marshal, it made him one of the best the agency had ever seen.

  
His image was also one area of contention in his marriage. Abby had no idea how intelligent Jack really was, but she had a better idea than most. It angered her that he wouldn't engage on that level with her friends and colleagues. Jack wouldn't risk anyone knowing the goofball marshal was much smarter than he appeared. That was his biggest advantage, and he refused to take a chance on losing it.

  
Abby also hated his job. She felt it was beneath him, a waste of his intellect and abilities, but Jack was proud of following in his family's footsteps and helping people. He was proud to make a real difference.

  
Jack had nearly screwed up when he and Zoe had crashed in Eureka. First, he had been too concerned about the missing boy after seeing the RV to remember to protect his image.

  
Second, he had been taken aback by Allison Blake. It wasn't just her beauty, though that was a large part of it. It was that she was DoD showing up in some quiet little, one-stoplight town. It was the way she handled herself when she felt he was intruding on her turf. Mostly, it was how she set all of that aside to focus on the missing child.

  
Third, he was amazed, and maybe a bit intimidated, when he was introduced to the real Eureka and Global Dynamics. He understood much more than he let on, but he had never focused on science. He'd never had a reason to.

  
Last, he had expected this case to be a one-time thing. He never expected to become the sheriff of Eureka.

  
All of this made him a bit careless. He didn't bother pretending to forget terms or facts. He didn't bother leading the scientists but nearly told them outright how to fix the problem.

  
Jack was amazed that, even years later, Allison never noticed the difference in him then and after he returned as sheriff. He had been tempted to drop the charade and let her in. It would have made his life in Eureka easier in some ways. He changed his mind when he met Nathan Stark.

  
Jack found Stark as attractive as he found Allison, maybe even more so. His tall, dark, and handsome appearance was only enhanced by his intelligence and confidence. Nathan Stark was the type of man that had always caught his eye before he married Abby.

  
Stark's ego was a drawback was on a professional level. Jack knew immediately that he would never get information or cooperation from the scientist unless the man felt superior to Jack. That wouldn't be difficult, however, because Stark was the type who felt superior to everyone.

  
He realized then that he was living in a town full of narcissists and that his persona would be more useful than ever. With that realization he chose to guide the scientists to answers rather than reveal his true intelligence.

  
It stung a bit when he also realized that his persona would negate any chance he might have had to catch Stark's eye in a personal way.

  
Jack turned his persona on to do his job and protect the town, and he turned his attention toward Allison, partly to stay on Stark's radar. He threw himself so deeply into it that he actually began to have feelings for her. Still, he never stopped regretting the lost opportunity to see if he and Stark could have had something.

  
All that kept him sane as he watched Nathan and Allison grow closer and fall back in love was knowing that his deception had enabled him to help save hundreds of lives, including Allison and Nathan's.

  
Jack was always careful not to let on how much he learned daily in the nuthouse he now called home. It hurt and angered him that he hadn't learned enough in the right discipline to take Stark's place in the photon deceleration chamber that fateful day to end the time loop.

  
Stark's death haunted Jack, ate at him. When Henry, Fargo, and Zane declared Stark lost forever, Jack began spending every spare moment studying every aspect of time. Twice before their trip to 1947 Jack successfully broke into GD and the time maintenance lab and unsuccessfully attempted to retrieve Stark from where Jack believed him to be – stuck in space, just outside of time.

  
The first thing Jack did after checking on Zoe after the five returned from 1947 to find things were different was to check the Eureka database for Stark. Stark's death was the same as in the old timeline. Jack hadn't realized how high his hopes were until he felt the first tear slip from his eye.

  
As soon as they all realized there was no way to return to their original timeline, Jack jumped back into his time-space research. Only SARAH had any idea what Jack was doing.  
Life went on. Despite Grant's interest in her, Allison and Jack got together. Taggart returned and began dating Dr. Taylor after working with her on a new robotic dog design. Grant bought Eureka and named Henry the new director of GD.

  
Fargo left with Holly to work on a new DARPA project. Jo and Zane married. Vincent continued to run Cafe Diem and Eureka's rumor mill.

  
Zoe graduated medical school and accepted Henry's offer to return to Eureka as the Director of Medical Research after Allison left.

  
Allison hadn't been able to put Matrix Carter and Jo's relationship behind her, even going so far as to tell Jack that he was dumber than she had ever thought him to be if he believed she was going to go through all of that again.

  
The only time Jack had put his attempts to retrieve Stark on hold was when all of his attention was required to rescue Allison and the Astraeus crew from the Consortium.  
It took realizing that he was relieved at losing Allison, not heartbroken, for him to admit to himself that he was only with her because he had promised Stark to take care of her and Kevin. Any romantic interest he'd had in Allison had faded away with Stark in the time maintenance lab.

 

 

Four years after watching Stark dematerialize, Jack was in the time maintenance lab for the sixth time. As he always did when attempting retrieval, Jack talked to Stark. He kept the scientist up to date on Allison and Kevin, the events in town, GD, and world news.

  
Jack knew the scientist would be baffled that the goofball sheriff was attempting something even Henry wouldn't, so he told Stark about his true IQ of 193, his reasons for saying it was 111, and the lengths he'd gone to over the years to fulfill the goofball expectations people had of him. He told Stark the first time he attempted to retrieve the scientist and again the first time he tried after returning from 1947 just in case this was a different version of Stark and wouldn't know. The only thing he didn't tell Stark about was his attraction to the dark haired genius.

  
When Jack had finished preparing and only had to initiate the attempt, he said, “Stark, this is my last try to bring you home. I don't know what else to do if this fails. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get you back sooner. I can't tell you how sorry I'll be if I can't get you back now.”

  
Jack hit ENTER on the keyboard and set his last attempt in motion. He stepped in front of the deceleration chamber and waited with his heart in his throat.

~~~~~

Nathan was still alive if Descartes was right in believing, “I think, therefore I am.” He may not have had a body or been able to communicate with anyone, but Nathan was aware, able to think, and able to feel emotions.

  
He watched Carter do remarkable work in attempting to retrieve him. Carter came at the situation with ideas and in ways that would have impressed the scientist no matter who thought of them. Watching Carter, Nathan had no trouble believing the sheriff about his I.Q. Looking at all the times Carter's simplistic ideas helped Nathan and the others avoid sure destruction, Nathan was amazed and embarrassed that he hadn't seen Carter's true intelligence sooner.

  
Nathan guessed he'd been so blind because he'd been wrapped up in distracting Allison from the handsome sheriff. If he didn't have a chance with Carter then he didn't want her to have one either. He figured remarrying her would ensure that her chance with Carter was as nonexistent as his own.

  
As he had stood in the chamber facing death, Nathan regretted hurting Allison. His biggest regret was not taking a chance with Carter.

  
Nathan hung on Carter's every word during the sheriff's attempts even though he already knew most of what Carter told him. The man spoke to him as though the scientist were alive and well and in the room. Nathan needed and appreciated that.

  
Nathan knew most of what Carter spoke of because, for some reason, he was connected to the sheriff. He could go wherever he wanted and often did, but after a few hours he would be yanked right back to Carter's side, even to 1947.

  
Nathan thought at first that the connection was due to proximity during his deletion from the time-stream. He ruled that out because Fargo had been in the lab, too, but Nathan had never been yanked to Fargo. Nathan vehemently ignored it each time the phrase “soul mates” flashed across his mind.

  
Nathan had watched Carter berate himself each time an attempt failed. He had watched, irate, as Grant had nearly stranded Carter in 1947. He had watched, impressed and amazed, as Carter attempted to retrieve him even though it might have cost the sheriff his relationship with Allison. He had watched, embarrassed at his own joy, as Jack was more relieved than hurt when Allison left him.

  
He had watched and listened as Carter apologized for not succeeding in rescuing him sooner.

  
As Carter initiated the retrieval attempt, Nathan moved into the chamber.

 

 

The computers and machinery in the time maintenance lab began to hum. Sparks flashed across the room. Tiny particles of light began to fly around inside the chamber and around the room.

  
The noise increased. The particles glowed brighter and flowed faster. Jack had to cover his ears and close his eyes as the noise and light continued to increase rapidly.

  
Just before Jack decided that a strategic retreat was the appropriate course of action, everything stopped. He pulled himself together in the overwhelming silence and stepped up to the chamber.

  
Nothing inside the chamber had changed at all. Nathan wasn't there. Jack had failed. He dropped his head as he whispered, “I'm so sorry, Nathan.”

  
“I thought it would take at least a day for you to regret bringing me back considering how hard you worked to do it.”

  
The sheriff jerked around to see Nathan Stark standing behind him looking exactly as he had when he dematerialized all those years ago.

  
“Nathan!” Jack gasped and pulled the scientist into a hug.

Nathan hugged Jack back just as hard, “Thank you, Jack.”

  
The sheriff got himself together and pulled back. He slapped Nathan on the shoulders as he said, “Let's get you to the infirmary, scientist. You've got a lot of catching up to do, but let's get you checked out first.”

  
Jack was surprised to get no argument. Stark nodded and said, “After you, Jack.”

  
Both men smiled all the way to the infirmary.

~~~~~

Zoe was on duty that evening because she was catching up on paperwork for her own experiment. She was astonished when she saw Nathan Stark follow her dad through the door. She recovered quickly and set to work examining the returned scientist.

  
While young Dr. Carter quickly and efficiently checked out Stark, Jack called Henry. Henry rushed to GD, nearly jogging through the infirmary doors just as Zoe finished running the portable MRI over Stark.

  
“Nathan! I can't believe what I'm seeing. How are you back?” Henry gushed.

  
“Good to see you, too, Henry,” Nathan smiled.

  
Henry hugged Nathan and took a breath. “It's so good to see you, my friend. Welcome home,” the director said in a calmer tone. “Seriously though, how are you here?”

  
“Someone's crazy experiment must have backfired. In a good way this time,” Nathan said.

  
“It's okay, Stark,” Jack said as he got off the phone. “Henry, SARAH is emailing all the data to you as we speak.”

  
“I like it better when you call me Nathan, Jack.”

  
“Yeah? You didn't feel that way before your unauthorized vacation, scientist,” Jack replied.

  
“That was before I knew the lengths you would go to in order to save people you don't even like,” Nathan said.

  
“Yeah,” Jack drew the word out. “I think you mean that was before you learned my secrets. That has absolutely nothing to do with it.” Jack didn't even try to curb the sarcasm.  
“Absolutely nothing,” Nathan said seriously. “Jack, you were finally with Allison and still fought to get me back home. You kept fighting to save me even though it might have meant that Allison would choose me again.

  
“You're a better man than any of us ever gave you credit for.”

  
“Nathan, you've always known Jack would sacrifice his life for others. You've seen him risk it more than once,” Henry chastised. Though he was itching to ask a dozen questions, he held his tongue knowing that most of the answers would be in the email from SARAH.

  
“There's a difference between life and existence. We've all seen Jack risk the former time and again to save our asses. During these past few years, I've witnessed him risk his relationship with Allison, his job, his carefully cultivated persona...essentially his entire life he was content with...just to save me.”

  
Now Henry couldn't resist asking, and this question would probably not be answered in the email, “Wait, past few years? Witnessed? What are you saying, Nathan?”

  
“I was fully aware the entire time, Henry. I watched you save Eureka from Element X and help Thorne vanish. I watched Jack get fired and you help him keep his job.

  
“I went with you to 1947 and back. I watched you find happiness with Grace against some very steep odds. I watched Fargo grow into a great leader, Jo and Zane find each other again, Beverly kidnap and then help rescue the Astraeus crew, and Jack and Allison finally get together.

  
“And I watched Allison put Jack through more hell than she ever put me through,” Nathan explained.

  
“The most interesting, most amazing, most touching thing I watched was Jack Carter work for years to bring me back.”

  
“Jack?” Henry looked from one of his friends to the other. “Jack? You brought Nathan back? But how?” Henry asked in astonishment.

  
“It's all in the email, Henry, including the truth about me. I'm sorry for deceiving you all these years,” Jack said softly. “I promise I'll answer any questions you have after you read it, but right now we have some things to deal with regarding Nathan's return.”

  
“Yes, yes, of course,” Henry said.

  
Zoe had joined the group just in time to hear the last thing her dad and Henry said. “Well, let's start with medical issues. As far as we can tell, Dr. Stark is perfectly healthy. However, given the uniqueness of the situation, I want you under 24 hour observation for a while, Dr. Stark. We have no idea yet what, if any, health issues may arise. Better safe than sorry.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Nathan smiled, “No argument here. You've come a long way, Dr. Carter. I know I'm in good hands.”

  
Jack smiled at the look of pride and pleasure on his daughter's face. He was pretty proud and pleased himself.

  
“Zoe,” Henry said, “does 24 hour observation mean stuck here in the infirmary? I mean, he's been stuck outside time for years, and I think he'd want a little breathing room. Not to mention the fact that as soon as word spreads about his return, you'll be overrun with small and imagined injuries by people hoping to get a glimpse of him. I think your time can be better spent than running interference with gawkers.”

  
“I understand what you're saying, Henry, but this is the only place we can monitor him closely. I'm not comfortable with him being alone for any stretch of time just yet,” Zoe said.

  
“What about wearable bio-sensors?” Henry asked.

  
“He would still be alone and the time it might take to get to him could hinder our efforts to help him,” Zoe countered.

  
“I cold assign a personal assistant to stay with him 24/7 until you clear him,” Henry offered.

  
“That would be even worse than being the newest exhibit for hundreds of gawkers,” Nathan said.

  
“There is another option,” Jack said. “What if he comes home with us, Zo? You will be there during the night, I can take a week or so off to be with him during the day, and SARAH can constantly monitor anything you instruct her to. That keeps him monitored like you want and gives him a little freedom to go outside or to Cafe Diem when he feels up to it.”

  
“No, I don't want to impose, Jack. I can stay here in the infirmary,” Nathan said.

  
“That's a good idea, dad. SARAH is the perfect monitor. I can get her the information she'll need in less than an hour,” Zoe said.

  
“I can't ask you to go to that much trouble,” Nathan insisted.

  
Jack turned to Nathan and said, “Okay, first, you're not asking. We're offering.

  
“Second, I would think you would want a little company after being alone for so long. But I can easily see how too many people, like will be here, would overwhelm you.”

  
“Well, since you put it that way, thank you, Jack. And thank you, Dr. Carter,” Nathan said.

Zoe smiled, “I'll go call SARAH.”

  
Jack said, “I'll call Andy and get him to pick up some of your clothes from storage.”

  
“Nathan,” Henry said, “is there anyone you want me to contact for you tonight?”

  
“Not tonight, no, but if you could help me officially return I'd certainly be grateful.”

  
“I've already started making calls to do just that,” Henry said. “Grant was thrilled to learn that his investment in Eureka has paid off. He wants me to offer you a job once you're officially alive again.”

  
“I won't deny I was hoping for that,” Nathan smiled.

  
“Do you want me to call Allison?” Henry asked.

  
“I suppose she should know, and it would be better coming from you than for her to find out some other way.”

  
“So there's no hope of you two picking up where you left off?” Henry asked.

  
“No. I saw what happened between her and Jack, Henry. She hasn't changed since we were married. We wouldn't work this time either. My only interest in her is staying in touch with Kevin.”

  
“For what it's worth, Nathan, I think you're making the right decision.”

  
Zoe returned to Nathan's bedside. “SARAH is ready, Dr. Stark. I want you to let her, my dad, or me know if you feel even the slightest bit off in any way. You need plenty of rest, at least for the next couple of days. I have no doubt that you're on the edge of exhaustion right now. I want you eating healthy, but I won't begrudge you a decadent meal or two a week from Vincent. Promise me that, and you're free to go,” Zoe said.

  
“I promise, Dr. Carter,” Nathan smiled. “That's it? I'm really free to go?”

  
“That's it. Life is much simpler without the DoD red tape,” Henry said.

  
“Science without bureaucracy. I'm glad you finally got it, my friend. And you do a wonderful job of running it,” Nathan said.

  
Henry smiled at the sincerity in his friend's eyes. “I can't wait to get you back into the thick of things, Nathan. You have been sorely missed.”

  
Jack walked back over and slapped Nathan on the shoulder. “Come on, scientist, let's get you some hot food, fresh clothes, and a comfortable bed.”

~~~~~

SARAH had Nathan's clothes cleaned and ready by the time he and Jack had finished dinner. Once Nathan had showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he crashed on the couch beside Jack who was watching a baseball game.

  
“Not ready to catch up on your beauty sleep?” Jack teased.

  
Nathan grinned. “I've got a few years stored up for now.”

  
“Kevin called while you were in the shower. Seems Allison was out when Henry called her. Kev will tell his mom, and he said to tell you he can't wait to see you.”

  
“That will be interesting. I have no idea how to interact with a non-Autistic Kevin.”

  
“Don't sweat it, scientist. You've always been amazing with Kevin. Besides, he'll chalk any awkwardness up to you being lost in the time-space continuum for years. It'll be fine.”

  
“Thank you, Jack. And thank you for bringing me back.”

  
“Nathan, can I ask you a question?”

  
“You just did,” Nathan smirked.

  
Jack rolled his eyes. “Don't make me regret bringing you back.”

  
Nathan chuckled. “I missed this. It's fun bantering with you. Seriously though, you saved my life. You can ask me anything at all.”

  
“Why didn't you call Allison yourself?”

  
“Like I told Henry, I saw how she treated you. She hasn't changed a bit, but I have. There's no way she and I would work as a couple. I'm hoping that someone else telling her of my return will at least give her pause to consider that I may not want to be with her now.”

  
“You really think that will even cross her mind?”

  
“No, but I can hope,” Nathan smirked.

  
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Jack grinned.

  
“How did neither of us ever see what a controlling bitch she is?” Nathan chuckled.

  
“We were too busy competing over her to really see her. I did the same thing when Grant was flirting with her.”

  
“I have to ask, Jack, why did you really work so hard to bring me back?”

  
Jack picked up his beer and took a swallow to stall for time. “There's no one reason. I felt guilty that I wasn't the one to accelerate the photon instead of you. I tried to be there for Kevin, but it's you he considers his dad. I had to try to give you back to him. And I may have missed bantering with you...a little.”

  
Nathan grinned. “That's going to be even more fun now that I know you actually understand my insults.”

  
“I think my next project should be an ego reduction vaccine.”

  
Nathan was about to reply when Jack's phone rang.

  
“Go for Carter...Allison, how are...Yes, it's true...He thought it would be less shocking if someone else...I would never!...Allison!...No, I don't think that's a good idea...Because he's under doctor's orders to rest, and you are entirely too worked up to engage in calm communication at the moment...Call Zoe if you don't believe me...No, she would not lie for me. She wouldn't risk her license or reputation.”

  
Jack saw Nathan trying not to laugh and rolled his eyes at the scientist.

  
“I'm done arguing, Allison. Don't make me have SARAH Block your calls until Nathan has been medically cleared...do you really want to try me?...Give him a few days to get used to being back...I really don't care if that works for you or not. You will just have to deal with it...He'll call you when he feels ready. Goodbye, Allison.” Jack disconnected the call.  
“She's just getting worse and worse toward you, isn't she?” Nathan stated more than asked.

  
“She thinks I'm trying to turn you against her to keep the two of you apart for spite. She honestly believes I would stand in the way of her happiness,” Jack frowned.  
“She's crazy, Jack. Anyone who knows you knows that you would never do something so petty. You proved that by agreeing to walk Allie down the isle when she and I were to be remarried,” Nathan said firmly.

  
“She's angry at herself for even giving the two of us a chance, and she's trying to take it out on me. Unfortunately, Kevin is the one suffering for it.

  
“He calls me whenever he can even though he knows she will be pissed when she finds out.”

  
“I thought as much. He's a bright young man, and he's rightfully grown very fond of you.

  
“Thanks for dealing with her, Jack. I'm not sure I could have yet.”

  
“I didn't think you needed that stress right now. I just hope she doesn't try to keep Kevin away from you because she's pissed at me.”

  
Jack became quiet and distant. It took Nathan a few minutes to understand.

  
“Jack, there's room in Kevin's heart for both of us. I would never try to push you out.”

  
Jack smiled. “He's a great kid, Nathan. You should be proud.”

  
“So should you. You've been a great dad to him for years.”

  
Jack and Nathan spent the next few hours talking about everything from Allison and Kevin to Jack's research into time to the citizen's of Eureka. Neither man was in a rush to go to bed.

  
Neither knew that this was the beginning of their new routine.

~~~~~

SARAH woke Jack the next morning, “Sheriff, Dr. Stark needs you in the kitchen. He asks that you hurry.”

  
Jack bolted out of bed and ran downstairs, taking the steps two at a time and jumping the last three, to find Nathan adding pancakes to the plate of bacon and eggs in front of Zoe.

  
“What the...” Jack said.

  
“Sit down, Jack. Your breakfast is getting cold,” Nathan grinned.

  
“You scared the crap out of me,” Jack said with his hands on his hips.

  
Zoe and Nathan laughed.

  
Nathan said, “Consider it payback for that ego remark last night.”

  
“Oh. I am so going to regret bringing you back,” Jack scowled.

  
“Yeah, right,” Zoe smirked. “All the time you spent working to save him? No way that is going to happen.

  
“And why didn't you tell me what you were doing? Why didn't you even tell me you could do something like that?”

  
“You told her?” Jack accused Nathan.

  
“I didn't say a word,” Nathan replied. “Although I'm beginning to think hiding intelligence is a Carter family trait.”

  
“What does that mean?” Jack asked.

  
“Come on, dad. It's obvious. You brought Dr. Stark to the infirmary at a time of day when most of the scientists had already left for the night. None of the scientists still there at the time are doing anything remotely related to time.

  
“Then there was Henry. He was surprised to learn that Dr. Stark had returned, but you didn't seem surprised at all, which means you expected him. While I'm on the phone with SARAH, Andy drops a bag of Dr. Stark's clothes by, a bag that Andy said was right where you told him it would be.

  
“And a little blackmail got SARAH to reveal that you've been researching anything and everything time related that you could get your hands on for years.

  
“Face it, dad, any jury would convict on less,” Zoe said smugly as she folded her arms across her chest.

  
“That is all circumstantial at best,” Jack defended.

  
“Give it up, dad. You're guilty as charged. So why did you hide your intelligence from me, your own daughter?” she huffed.

  
Nathan chuckled as he handed Jack a plate of food.

  
Jack relented and sat down with his food. “Plausible deniability. I couldn't risk you giving me away.”

  
Zoe started to speak but stopped. Then she nodded and said, “Fair enough.”

  
Nathan laughed. “We all should have seen it over the years. It was almost always your dad who figured out how to save our necks.”

Jack was pouring ketchup over his eggs as he asked, “So seriously, why the attempt to give me a coronary this morning?”

  
Zoe smirked. “It really was revenge. Not for whatever ego remark you made to Dr. Stark, though. It was for lying to me all these years.”

  
“I didn't want to, honey. I had to. I never even let my parents know how smart I really am. And once we moved here? Being Sheriff 111 has helped more than you can imagine with all these supersized egos.”

  
“What about when Kevin slipped you that cognitive enhancement drug, Jack?” Nathan asked. “How did that really affect you?”

  
“Allison was right. It increased my intelligence and muted my emotions. It just didn't cause quite the increase she thought,” Jack said.

  
“The Z-waves?” Nathan asked.

  
“The Z-wave interaction was what muted my emotions. It hardly made a difference with my intelligence at all.”

  
“When I took over as medical director I found an encrypted file Allison thought she had erased. I had to call Zane to help me, and it took hours to get into. She had been doing her own secret research to see if Z-waves could be used to markedly increase intelligence without causing irregularities in the emotional center of the brain,” Zoe said.

  
“She was looking for a way to make your dad smarter without muting his emotions?” Nathan asked.

  
“Exactly. Luckily she never came close enough for even her comfort because she clearly planned to try it on my dad without his knowledge or consent. She only stopped her research when Grant changed employee contracts to prohibit blind experiments without participants' knowledge because that meant she could have been arrested if she had been caught, and she would have been caught if it had worked,” Zoe said.

  
“Well there's another point to Grant in making up for his stupidity in 1947,” Jack said.

  
“And another reason for me not to reunite with Allison,” Nathan said.

  
“If you hadn't had to hide your intelligence from Allison you two might still be together,” Zoe said.

  
“I thought about telling her when we first met. I thought about not hiding it at all here in Eureka. After the first couple of cases I realized that it was more important than ever that no one know. The only person around here who would have done anything to help me back then was Henry. I wouldn't have been able to do my job at all.

  
“Once I had established the goofball image, it would have been nearly impossible to gain anyone's trust if the truth had come out.”

  
“I hate that you had to hide part of who you are for so much of your life. I don't know how you did it. It nearly drove me nuts to lie to you about my I.Q.,” Zoe said.

  
“Like I said, family trait,” Nathan said before taking a sip of coffee to hide his smirk.

  
Jack rolled his eyes. “Do not even think about doing experiments on that subject, scientist.”

  
Nathan turned serious. “You came clean to Henry when you brought me back. You said it would be nearly impossible to gain anyone's trust, and you could have come up with another plausible explanation,” Nathan said, the question clear in his voice and expression.

  
“You would know even if I hadn't talked to you and explained about me each time I attempted to retrieve you. I wasn't going to ask you to lie for me.”

  
“You basically resurrected me. I would gladly have protected your secret.”

  
Zoe discretely watched and listened to her dad and the man he'd saved, the same man he'd professed to hate for years. She began to see the past in a new, brighter light.

  
Jack nodded and swallowed some coffee. “I thought you might, but I couldn't put you in that position. I wanted to bring you back to your life, not to more secrets and lies, especially now that GD isn't the Department of Defense pawn it used to be.”

  
Nathan and Jack just stared at each other. It wasn't at all the angry glares they used to exchange.

  
“Speaking of GD,” SARAH said, “Dr. Deacon called earlier and said that Dr. Rockwell will arrive in town later today. Seems he has some questions for the genius who pulled off a miracle.”

  
“That's the part I'm looking forward to the least,” Jack said.

  
“Come on, Jack. You and Grant might actually become friends now that Allison is out of the way,” Nathan said.

  
Zoe picked up her coffee. “Are you talking about dad and Grant or dad and you?”

  
“Nathan and I are already friends, Zo. I haven't actually hated him since Calister, and none of our bickering has been anything more than our version of friendship since that night we fought through GD together .”

  
Nathan smiled and nodded. “It just became habit. And it's fun.”

  
Zoe laughed. “You know, a lot of people in town always said the bickering you two did was more like flirting.”

  
Jack and Nathan looked at each other and back at Zoe before speaking in unison, “Not likely.”

  
“Yeah, no flirting at all,” Zoe said.

  
“I've never flirted with your father, Zoe, but I also never thought as poorly of him as I may have acted. I was jealous...and stupid.”

  
“Did you just call yourself stupid?” Jack asked while father and daughter wore nearly identical grins.

  
Nathan rolled his eyes.

  
Jack laughed. “SARAH, I hope you recorded that because I doubt it will ever happen again.”

  
“Recorded with time and date noted, sheriff,” SARAH said.

  
“SARAH, you do realize that I can reprogram you so that you have no control over the television and therefore miss all your favorite talk shows,” Nathan threatened.  
“I'm sorry, Dr. Stark, but the Carter's are right, that was too good to pass up,” the AI replied.

  
“Yeah, well, over half a decade spent watching the people you care about assume you're dead and move on with life will force you to face your mistakes. You can't help seeing how stupid you are and wishing you could change a few things.

  
“You've given me the chance to try to make those changes, Jack. I intend to make the most of it,” Nathan said.

  
Jack smiled. The smile changed to a smirk as he said, “I just couldn't let you get away with being the self-sacrificing, universe saving hero.”

  
Zoe rolled her eyes as Nathan laughed and said, “Yes, I forgot it's in your contract that only you can take stupid risks to save others.”

  
Zoe stood, grabbed her coat and bag, and said, “I need to get to work. Dr. Stark, I'll see you at 3:00 or I'll send Andy to get you.

  
“And just so you both know, I can totally see how people would think you two were flirting.” She was out the door before either man could reply.

  
Jack and Nathan finished breakfast in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. When the meal was over and the kitchen was clean, Nathan broke the silence.

  
“You really don't have to take time off work for me, Jack. I'll be fine here with SARAH. I know you'd rather be sheriffing than babysitting.”

  
Jack laughed and shook his head. “Andy can handle the sheriffing. Zoe and Henry would kill me if I left you here alone yet. And I really doubt SARAH would even let me out the door.”

  
“That is correct, Sheriff Carter, per Zoe's instructions,” SARAH said.

  
“Besides,” Jack continued, ignoring the AI, “I figure you've been alone enough and might appreciate some company that isn't eying you as experimental data. It might actually be pleasant to have a discussion with you on your level for once rather than having to resort to insults and threats.”

  
“That's considerate of you, Jack. You're right, I feel like I've just been released from solitary confinement except there were no guards antagonizing me.”

  
“I imagine it was worse than that. Seeing and hearing everyone and not being able to be seen or heard, not being able to touch? I half expected you to be insane if I was able to get you back.”

  
“Another year or so and I probably would have been. It helped to be able to watch you and a couple of others work. Focusing on the science kept me from losing my mind more than once.”

  
“Nathan, I really am so very sorry I couldn't get you home sooner.”

  
“Stop, Jack. I'm grateful you got me back at all. I'm not sure I would have been able to do it if you had been the one in the chamber.”

  
“We both know better than that. What would you like to do on your first full day back in the realm of corporeal beings?”

  
“I'd really like to get out of here, but I don't want to see anyone yet, if that makes sense. No offense, SARAH. I'd just like to feel the sunshine on my skin.”

  
“No offense taken, Dr. Stark,” SARAH said. “If you and Sheriff Carter would like, I can prepare picnic lunch for you to eat outside. Or, if you'd like to lunch by the lake, I can institute a spill warning to ensure you are not overrun with people while you're there.”

  
“SARAH, exactly how much access to GD security measures do you have?” Nathan asked with a smirk.

  
“Sheriff Carter has ensured that I am able to alert him in case of any emergency at GD and town wide.”

  
Jack rubbed the back of his neck and glared up at the AI's sensors. “SARAH, we agreed you would consider that classified information.”

  
“We did, sheriff, but had I not answered honestly, I believe Dr. Stark would simply have hacked into my programming when he got bored.”

  
“Fair enough,” Jack said.

  
Nathan chuckled, “True enough.”

  
“How about we invite Henry and have that lakeside picnic around 1:30 before you head in to see Zoe? In the meantime, I've always wondered what kind of poker player you'd be.”  
“Nathan chuckled again, “Get ready to owe me your paycheck until your retire, sheriff.”

  
SARAH produced a deck of cards and two glasses of soda on the dining table while the men showered and dressed for the day. By the time they left to meet Henry at the lake, Nathan owed Jack $400.

~~~~~

After stuffing themselves on the feast SARAH made, Jack, Nathan, and Henry settled back against a large tree on the blankets Jack kept in the back of his Jeep.  
“I definitely ate too much,” Nathan said.

  
“SARAH made enough for a small army,” Henry said.

  
“I think she's been taking lessons from Vincent,” Jack grinned. “And you're right, Nathan, you stuffed that food away like you haven't eaten a bite in years.”

  
Nathan laughed as Henry stared at his friends.

  
“Are you sure this is Nathan, Jack. I've never seen him not come back at a remark like that, especially coming from you,” Henry joked.

  
All three laughed but Jack and Nathan knew Henry was only half joking.

  
“I'm me, Henry. I've just matured and, hopefully, become a better man. I don't intend to be the same man I was before or make the same mistakes. And you were right. Jack and I could have been friends from the start if not for our rivalry over Allison. I'm glad that's one mistake Jack has allowed me to correct.”

  
“More like one mistake we're both willing to correct. I was as much at fault as you,” Jack said.

  
“That is something I am very happy about,” Henry said grinning.

  
“Okay, Henry, let's get down to it. I know you have questions, and you're probably angry,” Jack said.

  
Henry shook his head. “I'm not angry, my friend, a little hurt, but not angry. I actually do understand why you hid your brain. I just wish you had been comfortable enough with me to let me in.”

  
“It wasn't like that, Henry. If I had told you then you would have taken a completely different approach in how you explained things to me. People would have noticed that.

  
“Plus, I really did need explanations in simple terms when we first met. I hadn't really dealt with any sciency stuff before coming to Eureka.”

  
That had the desired effect and all three men laughed again.

  
“I don't know if we can protect your persona now, Jack. Too many people already know you're the one who saved Nathan.”

  
“That's okay. We've got one of the biggest minds in the world back.”

  
“Without the DoD around not as many scientists push too hard and try to hide it. Luckily, Jack's persona isn't quite as necessary as before,” Nathan said.

  
Henry pointed at Nathan. “That brings up a question I have. Jack, how did you know that Nathan was aware all that time?”

  
“I didn't know for certain, but when Walter Perkins was nudged just outside the time stream he kept an eye on his son and sought help from us.

  
“I knew Nathan had to be much farther outside the time stream, but if he was close enough to retrieve, he was likely close enough to be aware.”

  
“That's just one of a dozen things Jack thought of that I wouldn't have,” Nathan said.

  
“I hate to admit it, but I had given you up for dead, Nathan. I didn't see any way to get you back without unraveling time,” Henry said.

  
“Well you were understandably skittish after altering time trying to save Kim,” Nathan said, sympathy for his friend coloring his voice.

  
“What? What are you talking about?” Henry asked.

  
“I was outside of time, remember? I saw this, I don't even know how to describe it, I guess scar would be the closest word. I saw this scar on the stream. I went to check it out and saw everything. I'm sorry it didn't work, Henry, but there's a reason it didn't.”

  
Henry nodded, “The paradox.”

  
“That time stream was producing a child that was never supposed to exist. There was no being to inhabit that body. The result would have been a stillbirth. The result of that stillbirth would have been pain and distraction. The result of that would have been the end of everything,” Jack said.

  
“You remember?” Henry asked in surprise.

  
“Only bits and pieces,” Jack said, “enough to know that something had happened.”

  
“I'm sorry, Jack,” Henry said.

  
“It all worked out for the best, Henry. I'm just sorry it took Kim's death to fix it.”

  
“What else did you see, Nathan?” Jack asked when Henry became quiet.

  
“If Kevin hadn't sent you all to 1947 and Grant hadn't hopped a ride back to this time with you, then I wouldn't be here. Jack would have been arrested and convicted of treason for breaking into GD to make his last attempt to retrieve me.”

  
“How could Kevin have known to send us to 1947, and why 1947?” Henry asked.

  
“You guys separated him from the artifact, but that doesn't mean you separated him from his memories of it,” Jack said. “As for the why of 1947, I can only assume it has something to do with Grant.”

  
“You know, Jack, you were exposed to the artifact, too when Carl healed you from the laser blast,” Henry said.

  
“That would explain how Jack has survived some of the physical traumas he's suffered protecting this town.”

  
“You two never told me what happened to the artifact after you separated it from Kevin,” Jack said.

  
“The energy returned to the shell it was blown out of by the explosion,” Nathan said.

  
“It's still in Section 5 under the tightest security available,” Henry added.

  
“So do we need to worry about what might happen next with it?” Jack asked, his brow furrowed.

  
“I don't think so,” Nathan said. “There's been no sign of activity from it since we stopped examining it.”

  
“So you're saying it just wants to be left alone?” Jack asked.

  
“How in the world did we not see your intelligence?” Nathan asked. “Yes, it does seem that it was defending itself.”

  
“So maybe if someone who already has a connection...” Jack began.

  
“Not a chance, Jack. It killed Carlson and nearly killed Kevin. You're not going near it,” Henry said.

  
“I thought Carlson got reassigned,” Jack said.

  
“After he saved you, Carlson walked into the artifact chamber. The radiation killed him within minutes,” Nathan said.

  
“So it wasn't actually the artifact that killed Carl,” Jack began again.

  
“No, Jack, you're not going near that thing,” Henry said.

  
“Hey, I'm just speculating here. I'm just trying to learn something about it just in case there's trouble again.”

  
Henry and Nathan looked at each other. “Okay, Jack. What are you thinking?” Nathan asked.

  
“It wasn't the artifact that killed Carl. It was the radiation. When the sample was taken several of you were affected. Kim was killed immediately because she was closest to the chamber. What if the explosion and the effect on the rest of you was an attempt by the artifact to communicate because it knew it had your attention?”

  
“It was killing Kevin, Jack. It was overtaking his brain,” Nathan said.

  
“Exactly. Kevin was learning everything the artifact had to teach. So was it an intentional attack? Or could it have been an attempt to use Kevin to communicate?

  
“It's origin was never determined, right? Could it be a life form? Is that possible?” Jack asked.

  
“That's something I never considered. I just assumed someone or something had made it,” Nathan said.

  
“Still, we have no safe way to test that,” Henry said.

  
“I think we do. Like you said, I've already been exposed. And it hasn't taken me over in all these years,” Jack said.

  
“Your exposure was indirect, Jack. Direct exposure would likely kill you,” Nathan said.

  
“Guys, I was in Carl's lab when he was exposed. Don't you think I was exposed then, too?”

  
“And Carlson drawing on the artifact to heal you somehow kept you from being consumed by it?” Nathan asked.

  
“I still say it's entirely too dangerous,” Henry interjected.

  
“Agreed,” Nathan said. “Besides, aren't we supposed to be answering Henry's questions right now?” Nathan tried to change the subject.

  
“I only have a couple more. What made you certain you could get Nathan back without destroying the universe? So certain that you broke into GD multiple times?”

  
“The photon was accelerated to our normal time flow. Nathan was sped up. I figured out how to figuratively grab hold of Nathan without slowing down the photon he accelerated by flooding the chamber with Leo's indigo light.

  
“As for why I was so certain it would work, again, Walter Perkins. We got him back; there had to be a way to get Nathan Back.”

  
Henry nodded. “The truth is that I'm just grateful you're a stubborn bastard and refused to give up when the rest of us did.”

  
“I second that,” Nathan laughed.

  
Jack smiled. “What's your next question, Henry?”

  
“Well, as mayor, I'm requesting that you get with Zane and Jo to go over electronic and physical security to ensure that no one else can break into GD. My question is: would you consider a permanent, full time position at GD?”

  
“Absolutely,” Jack said.

  
“Really?” Nathan asked.

  
“Sure: when hell freezes over.”

  
All three men laughed. They enjoyed each others' company until it was time for Nathan to see Zoe.

~~~~~

After his appointment with Zoe was over, Nathan was brave enough to accompany Jack to the sheriff's office to check on Andy.

  
The robotic deputy was welcoming but respectful. He even agreed to allow Nathan to examine his programming soon. There was a peaceful few minutes while Jack looked over case files, but they had been seen entering the office. It didn't take long for the fun to start.

  
First, it was Dr. Young who came awfully close to violating her own sexual harassment policies when she couldn't seem to remain any farther from Nathan than arm's reach.  
Second was Seth Osborn. Once over his astonishment, he began bombarding Nathan with details of his latest work.

  
It went downhill from there. Nathan had always been someone who could command a room just with his presence. Today, however, after years of solitude, he couldn't handle the crush of well meaning people wanting to touch him to be certain their imaginations weren't tricking them. He couldn't handle the noise of them all vying for his attention at once. He couldn't handle all the questions being shouted at him.

  
“All right, all right, enough!” Jack yelled. “Unless you have legitimate police business, go home. Go to work. Go to the cafe and gossip. Go somewhere, just get out of here and let the man breathe. Now.”

  
It still took Jack and Andy gently yet physically turning people and leading them to the door to clear the office. Andy was sending away newcomers when Jack returned to Nathan, “Are you okay, scientist?”

  
Nathan sat in the chair by Jack's desk. “I thought I could handle it. I have never had trouble dealing with people, even rowdy crowds. I've stood up to generals, congressmen, presidents...yet I could not stand up to a group of curious townspeople just now. What's wrong with me, Jack?”

  
“There's nothing wrong with you. It's just going to take time to get used to interaction again. Come on,” Jack said as he gently took Nathan's elbow, “let's get you home.”

  
Andy kept the crowd at bay while Jack got Nathan to his Jeep. Both men were silent on the drive back to the smart house. Nathan was lost in his thoughts. Jack was letting him sort through them.

  
When they pulled up in the driveway Jack said, “I'm sorry, Nathan, that was my fault. I should have just called Andy to check on things. I didn't expect the entire town to show up; I should have expected it.”

  
“No, Jack. I could have asked you to call or wait until later. I thought I could handle it, and I was wrong.”

  
Jack and Nathan went inside. Jack grabbed a beer, and Nathan went to take a shower. Neither acknowledged that Nathan had already taken a shower earlier. Nathan was grateful that Jack said nothing about Nathan's figuratively washing the people off of him.

  
“Is there something I can do, sheriff?” SARAH asked. “You don't usually drink this early in the day.”

  
“I don't think there's anything either of us can do about this.”

  
“I take it Dr. Stark's excursion into public didn't go as well as you'd hoped.”

  
“It was fine until half the town decided to rush the sheriff's office at once.”

  
“You didn't expect as much, sheriff?” the AI asked.

  
“I didn't expect it to be that bad. I should have. And I should have known Nathan wasn't ready for a pit stop in the middle of town.”

  
“They're going to have a similar reaction to you when it becomes common knowledge that you are the one who retrieved Dr. Stark.”

  
“Yeah, I'd rather face that myself than see him as overwhelmed as he was today.”

  
“I guess I shouldn't have encouraged him to go to Cafe Diem,” Zoe said from the kitchen doorway. “SARAH, coffee, please.”

  
“We didn't go to the cafe. We stopped by the office for me to check in with Andy. Within ten minutes nearly a hundred people were crowded into the station, all wanting to see, speak to, and touch him”

  
“Everyone wants to see a miracle, and, in this town, most of them want to explain it.”

  
“Yeah, with little to no concern for the subject of the miracle,” Jack complained.

“And that's the problem,” Nathan said as he entered the kitchen, “I'm used to explaining the miracle, not being the miracle.”

  
“Then explain it. Tell them how you're back so you can get your life back,” Jack said.

  
“No, I can't do that. I won't put you in that position.”

  
Jack threw his hands out to the side before grabbing his beer and heading upstairs.

  
Nathan turned to Zoe. “Five years ago I would have told everyone and not thought twice about it. I guess your father did bring back a different man. What's wrong with me, Zoe?”

  
“I'm not sure anything is, Dr. Stark. Ask yourself why you're different. Is it your time out of time, your knowledge of why my dad hid his brain, your gratitude, or just maybe, something else entirely?” Zoe took her coffee and went up to her room.

  
“Zoe has a point, Dr. Stark,” SARAH said.

  
“And what point is that, SARAH?”

  
“You and Sheriff Carter seem to grow closer each day. Maybe there's more than friendship between you.”

  
“Closer each day? SARAH, I've hardly been back a full day yet.”

  
“True. But you said yourself that you were around Sheriff Carter nearly the entire time you were outside of time. No one knows better than you that the closer he got to retrieving you, the more determined he became to succeed,” the AI replied. “What would you guess his motivation for that to be?”

  
Nathan poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat on the couch to watch TV.

~~~~~

Jack came downstairs later to find Nathan sitting on the couch and staring blankly at a baseball game.

  
“I never thought I'd see you voluntarily watching baseball.”

  
Nathan glanced up at Jack. “Kind of got used to it when I couldn't threaten you to change the channel.”

  
“That would never have worked at any time.”

  
Nathan gave him a small smile as Jack sat beside him. They watched the game in silence for a while.

  
“Nathan, if I cared about losing my idiot persona I would have talked someone else through retrieving you or just made it look like someone else did it accidentally. And I wouldn't have talked to you about me before you were back.”

  
“Not for me, Jack. You spent your life presenting a specific Jack Carter to the world with good reason. I can't let you throw that away for me.”

  
“You're being fairly obtuse for a genius. I don't need it anymore, scientist. I don't plan to ever leave this job. Henry isn't going to fire me any time soon. The scientists around here don't feel the need to lie to me anymore. I don't need people to think of me as Sheriff 111.”

  
“But you still wouldn't give it up if not for me,” Nathan insisted.

  
“Only because there wouldn't be a reason. It's become habit. That's all. So the next time a crowd surrounds you, tell them what they want to know and send them on their way. Show them all that you're still Dr. Nathan Stark, Nobel Laureate.”

  
Nathan was silent for an entire inning of the game before asking, “Are you sure, Jack?”

  
“I'm sure. Tell the good people of Eureka that their dumb old sheriff isn't as dumb as they think.

  
“And don't forget to throw a few insults my way. They won't believe you're you if you don't.”

  
“I really am sorry for being an ass for all those years. I can't believe I actually thought Allison was worth that.”

  
“We both thought she was. We both acted like asses. It's over and done, water under the bridge.”

  
“So what do you say you and I have breakfast at Cafe Diem in the morning and then go see Henry at GD?”

  
“I say that's a damn good idea,” Jack smiled.

  
Jack and Nathan watched the rest of the game and another, bickering like an old married couple, and then headed to bed.

~~~~~

Zoe was heading out the door the next morning when Jack finally made it downstairs. “Late night?” she smirked.

  
“And a couple of lousy ball games,” Jack grouched.

  
“Aww, you poor thing. I have to head out. Make sure Dr. Stark is at GD to see me by three.”

  
“Didn't you just see him yesterday?”

  
“Yes, and I want to see him every day for a while. The only person who's been through something even remotely similar to what Dr. Stark has is Walter Perkins. I don't want to see Dr. Stark end up sixteen, too.”

  
“Zoe,” Nathan said as he came down the stairs, “I'm living in your house, I'm your patient, and you've seen me in my underwear. I think it's okay if you call me Nathan.”

  
“Just when has my daughter seen you in your underwear?”

  
“What? Did you think I just get him to smile, and then say, 'You're good; see you tomorrow' when I examine him?” Zoe rolled her eyes. “I'll see you by three, Nathan. You two have a good day.” Zoe was laughing as she went out the door.

  
“You should be very proud of her, Jack. She's a remarkable young woman and a fantastic physician,” Nathan said.

  
“I am,” Jack said, pride evident on his face. “She's come a very long way since we came here. I just can't stop treating her like my little girl. She'd think there was something badly wrong if I did.”

  
“You know, you've come a long way, too.”

  
“Me? What do you mean?”

  
“You hated this town when you were first transferred here. Now you wouldn't leave if given the option. You found a home here, Jack.”

  
“Fair enough,” Jack smiled. “You sure you're ready for this? Not even Vincent is going to be able to hold back the flood of humanity that's headed your way.”

  
“I'm ready if you are. This is your last chance to change your mind.”

  
“That's not gonna happen, scientist.”

  
“Then let's get going.”

  
As soon as the men were in Jack's Jeep and he had started it, Nathan reached to change the radio station.

  
“Hey,” Jack said, “you don't mess with a man's radio.”

  
“I wouldn't have to if the man had his radio on a station that plays real music.”

  
“Now you listen here, Aerosmith music is real music.”

  
“No, Aerosmith and the like is caterwauling. Beethoven, Bach, that's real music. But I guess I shouldn't expect a sheriff to realize that.”

  
“Just because it's old as science doesn't mean it's music. '80's music has meaning and heart. It touches you where you live.”

  
“Yes, Boy George singing “Karma Chameleon” always brings me to tears.”

  
“At least it keeps me awake while I'm working. They could market classical music as a cure for insomnia.”

  
“That would only work for someone who has no taste. Or class.”

  
“No wonder you sleep so well. I just always thought you had no conscience.”

  
Nathan and Jack burst out laughing. As soon as they calmed down, they glanced at each other and burst out laughing again. They laughed all the way to Cafe Diem with “Moonlight Sonata” playing on the radio.

  
Nathan realized as they walked into the cafe that Jack had purposely kept him from having a chance to freak out. He wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever stop underestimating Jack Carter.  
Vincent was right in front of them as soon as the door closed behind them. He led them to a booth, making a truly valiant effort to keep the crowd at bay. Jack had been right about that.

  
Nathan finally had enough. He pulled an empty chair from the nearest table and stood on it.

  
“All right! That's enough,” Nathan's strong, deep voice quieted the crowd. “Yes, I am back, in the flesh, as you can clearly see. Yes, I am fine. Yes, I am caught up on events.  
“No, I do not want to return to GD as director. No, I will not agree to being anyone's lab rat for study. Not even the genius who brought me back has asked me to do that.”  
The authority and strength in Nathan's voice had more than a few scientists looking away in shame at that statement.  
“Who did bring you back, Dr. Stark?” the Baker twins asked in unison.

  
Nathan looked at Jack. Jack smiled and nodded.

  
“Sheriff Carter is the one who brought me back.”

  
The crowd got loud again. There was laughter, scoffing, and remarks of disbelief. Some talked among themselves. Others shouted questions, mainly who it really was that brought him back.

  
Nathan pulled Jack up on a chair near him. When he had everyone's attention again, he asked Jack half a dozen questions regarding the time-space continuum which Jack answered correctly and in detail. Jack then took a few questions from the crowd, making sure to answer questions from various disciplines. He nailed each answer, and blew several minds in the process.

  
The last question Jack answered was, “Why didn't you tell us you're so smart?” Jack simply told them that seeming to be the goofball cop had worked in his favor for his entire career and that he didn't play dumb just in Eureka.

  
In less than half an hour Nathan and Jack were eating breakfast. No one could seem to stop staring at them. A couple of scientists were brave enough to approach after the two were done eating. One look from Nathan sent them scurrying away.

  
Jack smiled, “Now that's the scientist I know.”

  
“That felt surprisingly good,” Nathan grinned.

  
“I really do need to get on that ego vaccine, don't I?”

  
“It couldn't hurt,” Nathan laughed.

  
Henry and a man neither Nathan nor Jack was overly fond of walked up to their booth.

  
“I heard you two were here,” Henry said. “It's good to see you out and about, Nathan.”

  
“It's good to be out and about. Why don't you and Grant join us?”

  
Henry slid into the booth beside Jack, and Grant slid in beside Nathan.

  
Grant said, “Forgive me for staring, Dr. Stark, but this is truly incredible. I've seen some amazing things in this town, but you're back from the dead.”

  
“He was never dead,” Jack said. “He was stranded outside the time stream. You know, like I almost was sixty years ago.”

  
“I've apologized for that a dozen times. Henry said you brought him back, sport? I find that rather difficult to believe.”

  
“Well, I figure you still owe me about four dozen apologies for that little stunt. Yes, I retrieved him, and don't call me sport.”

  
“I just can't believe you did this, Carter. You? Of all the geniuses around here? You have to be covering for someone. I find it just too incredulous to believe that you are capable of this.”

  
Jack grinned. “So does most everyone else around here.”

  
Grant leaned forward. “Listen, sport. The security cameras were disabled. Anyone could have done this. I can't fathom you stealing credit from someone so I can only surmise that someone wants it quiet that they retrieved Dr. Stark from oblivion.”

  
Jack leaned forward putting himself almost in Grant's face. “I disabled the security cameras. I retrieved Nathan. And if you call me sport again, I will fabricate any number of reasons to arrest you, your town or not.”

  
“Gentlemen,” Henry said.

  
“I assure you, old chap, that Jack was the one who retrieved me,” Nathan said.

  
Grant leaned back at Henry's warning look and turned to Nathan. “You know this because he was the one in the room when you returned?”

  
“Yes,” Nathan agreed, “and because I watched him work on it for years. Before you question that, old chap, allow me to remind you how you told Ryan that you would be leaving Camp Eureka for a few hours and that, should you not return, he should investigate Adam Barlowe.”

  
Henry looked shocked, “Wait, you turned Barlowe in?”

  
Grant had the decency to look embarrassed. “The bridge device had to be left on. None of us could afford Ryan looking into that too closely so I gave him a legitimate security risk to investigate. I feel as bad about that as I do about nearly stranding Carter.

  
“Back to the matter at hand. I really would like to know who helped you, Carter.”

  
Henry noticed Nathan bristle and straighten his back, the very things Nathan had always done before giving a serious lashing to some idiot he 'd had enough of, and said quickly, “Grant, you've read the reports. What else do you need?”

  
“You know, Trevor,” Jack began in a condescending tone and proceeded to explain to Grant in detail why Grant and Einstein would never have gotten the bridge device to work, exactly how Kevin did, and what would probably happen if he ever attempted to use the device again now that he'd traveled through a wormhole twice.

  
Henry grinned, Nathan smirked, and grant stared slack-jawed at Jack.

  
Nathan said, “If I remember correctly, Grant, your IQ was recorded at 159.”

  
“That's correct.”

  
“Henry's wife administered an IQ test to Jack after he retrieved me. His IQ is 193. So, you see, old chap, Jack didn't need any help. Nor does he need your attitude.”

  
“Don't call me old chap,” Grant said.

  
Henry didn't bother hiding his grin at Nathan's complete change of attitude toward Jack. He knew Nathan well enough to know it had nothing to do with Jack's IQ. He had always believed that, had it not been for Allison, his friends would have been good friends, maybe even more.

  
Jack's phone rang. “Jack Carter...What?...Who?...You know what to do...I'm on my way.”

  
“Trouble?” Henry asked as he slid out of the booth so Jack could.

  
“Yeah,” Jack said, “a breaking and entering in progress. Any chance you can take Nathan to GD and show him some of the changes You've made?”

  
“Don't worry about me, Jack. Go do your sheriffing,” Nathan smiled.

  
“I thought you were taking some time off, sport,” Grant said.

  
“I am, but someone is trying to break into SARAH. I'll catch up with you guys as soon as I can.”

  
“So, any progress on having me declared alive again?” Jack heard Nathan ask as he walked away.

~~~~~

Jack walked down the stairs to find Allison about to use a laser torch on SARAH's control panel. Before he could say anything, SARAH initiated a force field around his ex-girlfriend.

  
“I will arrest you for vandalism, attempted breaking and entering, and trespassing,” Jack growled.

  
“Well, if your so-called smart house would let me in, I wouldn't have to override her programming. I came here to see my fiance, not argue with my ex-boyfriend or his psychotic house,” Allison snapped.

  
“As I have already informed you several times, Dr. Blake,” SARAH said snidely, “no one, until now, was home, and you have no business here without the residents present.”

  
“And as I have informed you several times, I don't believe anything you say, and I'm not leaving until I see Nathan,” Allison said.

  
“Nathan isn't here. I just left him at Cafe Diem with Henry and Grant,” Jack said.

  
“I don't believe a word you say either. I know Nathan is in there, and I am going in to see him before you turn him even more against me than you already have. Of course, it shouldn't take him long to see through any lies you tell him. Your creativity is as nonexistent as your IQ.”

  
Jack took a deep breath to calm down. “Here's what's going to happen, Allison. SARAH is going to drop the force field, and you are going to leave immediately. If you don't, I'm going to arrest you, and you can explain to Henry and Grant why you're attempting to tamper with a multi-million dollar computer program.”

  
Allison yelled, “I'm not going anywhere until I see my fiance. You have no right to keep us apart, Carter.”

  
“I told you he would call you when he's ready. I told him you called, and believe it or not, you haven't come up in conversation since then. Now go stay with a friend until he's ready to see you. Oh, sorry, I forgot. You don't have any friends here anymore.”

  
“And whose doing is that?”

  
“Yours, Allison. You never took the time to make any friends, and the ones you did have saw the real you before you left.”

  
“That is the dumbest thing you've ever said, and talking about you? That's saying something,” Allison sneered.

  
Jack reached behind him and pulled out his handcuffs. “SARAH, drop the shield please.”

  
“Yes, Sheriff Carter,” SARAH said.

  
“Allison, go away on your own,” Jack held up the cuffs, “or go in these.”

  
“You'll pay for this, Carter,” Allison said on her way up the stairs.

  
“SARAH,” Jack said when Allison was gone, “initiate security code Carter 91. Add Nathan Stark, Kevin Blake, Henry Deacon, and Charles Grant to list A.”

  
“Security code initiated and names added. Scanning. All subjects on list A accounted for and safe, sheriff.”

  
“Activate defensive measures Bookworm, Firewall, and Neverland. Add the same names as list A in security code Carter 91.”

“Defensive measures activated. Names added.”

  
“SARAH, seal the back door.”

  
“Back door sealed, sheriff.”

  
“Thank you, SARAH.”

  
“It's my pleasure. Please let me know if there's anything more I can do.”

  
“I will, SARAH, I will.”

 

 

Jack ran into Nathan and Henry coming out of Henry's office.

  
“Jack,” Nathan smiled, “Henry just finished what you started. I am officially alive again. And officially employed.”

  
“Jack,” Henry said with pride, “I'd like you to meet GD's new Director of Theoretical Research.”

  
“Well, that's great. And fast. How did you pull it off so quickly, Henry?”

  
“I just reminded the DoD that, had they not listened to Thorne and stopped us from trying, we might have gotten him back sooner. And I suggested that a lawsuit, should I be able to talk Nathan into allowing me to file one on his behalf, would be very bad for them on many levels,” Henry grinned.

  
“Well, I'm glad you had a better morning than I did,” Jack said.

  
“The B&E?” Henry asked. “Is everything okay?”

  
“Allison was about to cut into SARAH's control panel and attempt to override her programming when I got there.”

  
“I doubt that was the most pleasant conversation you've had recently,” Nathan said.

  
“Hardly. She has convinced herself that I'm keeping you from her and turning you against her.”

  
Henry laughed. “Is she seriously that deluded?”

  
“She is,” Nathan said. “She gave Jack hell the other night on the phone. He took it because he knew I was in no shape to.”

  
“Nathan, I really do consider us friends, but that is one thing you can handle yourself from now on,” Jack said.

  
“I guess now would be a good time to see her so Zoe can fuss at me about my blood pressure later,” Nathan said.

  
A GD security guard approached the men. “Dr. Deacon, we have a woman in custody. It's Dr. Allison Blake. She's demanding that we bring her to you or that we bring Dr. Stark from the smart house to her.”

  
“Nathan?” Henry asked.

  
“Your call, director.”

  
“If you don't mind, Henry, I'd like to make this call,” Grant said as he came down the hall with another guard.

  
“By all means, be my guest,” Henry said.

  
Grant turned to the first security guard. “Bring Dr. Blake to Dr. Deacon's office. Make sure she's in handcuffs.”

  
“Yes, sir.” the guard said and walked away to carry out his orders.

  
Grant turned to the scientists and sheriff. “Gentlemen, I'd greatly appreciate it if you would join me.”

  
The men were all seated when Allison was escorted into the office. Not even Grant rose from his seat. Jack went on high alert.

  
“Real nice, Carter. Call in reinforcements because you can't come up with a good lie on your own?” Allison sneered.

  
“What has happened to you, Allison?” Grant asked.

  
“I got smart and got the hell out of Eureka. I thought you were smart enough to have gotten out, too.”

  
“That's not what I mean, and you very well know it,” Grant said.

  
The hair on the back of Jack's neck was standing straight up. He glanced at Henry. This was not the same Grant they had known since he'd traveled back with them from 1947. This was the suspicious, hang-them-all-for-treason Grant they had first met back then.

  
“I don't understand. What do you mean?” Allison asked innocently.

  
There was a knock on the door and Jo walked in wearing full explosive gear and carrying a small box. “SARAH is fine,” she said. “Thanks to her, we found all eight of the nerve gas bombs Allison placed in the tunnels near the bunker's air vents.”

  
“Nerve gas bombs!” Jack got up and began to pace the office. “What the hell, Allison?”

  
“I told you I was going to see Nathan. I intended to see him even if I had to knock you out to do it.”

  
“Well, now you see me. What do you want, Allison?” Nathan asked.

  
“I want to be with my fiance.”

  
“That's actually laughable,” Nathan said. “First, we've been in the same room for ten minutes, and you didn't even acknowledge my presence until I spoke to you.  
“Second, you don't have a fiance. I have no intention of picking up where we left off, not after everything I've seen the past few years.

 

  
“Third, if all you wanted was to see me, you wouldn't be such a bitch about it. You would be acting like a perfect angel hoping to gain my favor.

  
“Last, nerve gas? Yes. Bombs? You know nothing about them. Whatever you're really up to, it's obvious you're working with someone else. So how about you tell us the truth?” Nathan said.

  
“Well, it seems that Carter has successfully turned you against me. For now. When you get over your gratitude to him for giving you a place to stay, you'll remember who and what Sheriff 111 really is.

  
“And why am I still in handcuffs?”

  
“Two counts of trespassing, three counts of attempted assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, and anything else we can discover or think of,” Grant said.

  
“I guess you're happy, Carter. You get to see me in your cell,” Allison snarled.

  
“Actually, I don't. At least two of your crimes are against me. It's unethical for me to take custody of you. And I'm not about to give you cause to dispute whatever punishment you get.”

  
“You'll be held here until the DoD decides whether or not they want you. If not, a US Marshall will take you off our hands,” Grant said.

  
“The DoD no longer has a say over GD or Eureka. They aren't going to want me. Unless there's something you haven't told us, Grant?” Allison said haughtily.

  
“Everyone in this room is well aware that GD works on limited defense contracts for the government, but that's not why they'll be interested in you,” Grant said.

  
“Given your behavior today and your history,” Henry said, “they're likely going to want to know if you've been brain-jacked again or if you're working with anyone. Like the consortium.”

  
“You're all being ridiculous.”

  
“Really?” Jack said. “You're the one going around planting nerve gas bombs, and we're being ridiculous?”

  
“You're the one keeping me from Nathan and turning him against me. I wouldn't have to take extreme measures, but you just have to be an ass.”

  
“No, Allison, he's not!” Nathan nearly yelled. He took a deep breath and spoke in a calmer tone, “I am the one who didn't want to talk to you. I am the one who doesn't want to be with you.

  
“I was aware, Allison. I was aware the entire time I was out of sync. I saw nearly everything. You have changed since you and I were married. You've become an even bigger bitch. I wanted to try again when I thought we had both changed for the better. Now I know we would never work.

  
“You are the one who turned me against you. I am the one who was keeping us apart because I didn't want to say all this to you over the phone.

  
“Now, why don't you stop acting like a bitch and tell us what you're really up to,” Nathan said.

  
Allison turned to look at Jack. “You did a fantastic job for a dumb ass.”

  
“Watch your mouth, Allison,” Zoe said as she entered the room. She turned to the guard and said, “Sit her down.”

  
Allison struggled but she was no match for the the large man. Once he had Allison seated, Zoe ran a scanner over and around the cuffed woman's head.  
The scanner beeped and a green light lit up on the top. Zoe looked at her dad and the scientists. “It's just Allison. No one has brain-jacked her again.”

  
“Why don't you tell us the truth, Allison? What are you hiding?” Henry asked.

  
“You know, Dad, I'd be happy to share my lab if you were to decide you want to develop an actual working truth serum,” Zoe said.

  
Allison laughed, “Now that is funny. Your father couldn't develop a photo taken with a Polaroid camera.”

  
“I've had just about enough of you insulting my father. Your snobbery is truly sickening.”

  
“I'm happy for you that you got your mother's brain, Zoe,” Allison said with a fake smile. “You'd still be a juvenile delinquent or dead in a ditch somewhere otherwise.”

  
Zoe looked at her dad who just shrugged his shoulders at her. With a smirk that rivaled Nathan Stark's, Zoe leaned down to be in Allison's face and said, “Actually, my mom's brain is my handicap. Her IQ is 142. I get my intelligence from my dad. His IQ is 193.”

  
“We all know that's a lie. Does the name 'Sheriff 111' ring a bell, dear?”

  
“Jack is the one brought me back,” Nathan said.

  
“There is no way in hell that's true,” Allison snapped.

  
Henry tapped a few keys on his interactive desk and the monitor behind him showed the results of the IQ test Grace had administered to Jack.

  
Allison leaned forward, “No. no, that can't be right. Grace mixed up the results with someone else.”

  
“When have you ever known Grace to make that kind of mistake? It's true, Allison,” Jack said.

  
“Why didn't you ever tell me, Jack?” Allison asked.

  
“It's Carter, or, you know, Sheriff 111 to you,” Jack said. “I didn't tell you because I didn't want to. I never told Zoe. No one knew until my experiment worked and Nathan returned.”

  
“We were going to be married, Jack. How could you not tell me?”

  
“You never intended to marry me, Allison. You only wanted a father for Kevin until you secured acceptable employment away from Eureka. The only reason you chose me over Grant was your fear of being sanctioned if anyone discovered who he really is.

  
“And I told you, it's Carter or sheriff.”

  
Allison turned toward the owner of Eureka, “Has he turned you against me, too, Grant? It certainly seems he's succeeded with everyone else.”

  
“Sheriff Carter has never spoken an unkind word against you in front of me. Consider this, Dr. Blake. I bought this town. Sheriff Carter protects my property. You, on the other hand, damaged my property and tried to do worse. Even more atrocious, you attempted to harm people in my employ and care.

  
“So, no, the sheriff didn't turn me against you. You did an excellent job of that on your own,” Grant said.

  
“I'll repeat Grant's original question. What has happened to you, Allison?” Henry said.

  
“You, of all people, should understand what happened to me, Henry. Only I wasn't lucky enough to find someone else.”

  
Allison turned to Nathan and continued, “And now you're back, and spiteful people are keeping me from seeing you. How can anyone blame me for trying to be with the only man I ever loved?”

  
Nathan rolled his eyes. “You never loved me, Allison. You used me as a father for Kevin just like you used Jack for the same reason.”

  
There was a knock on the door. Larry stepped just inside.

  
“Not right now, Larry,” Henry said.

  
“I'm sorry, Dr. Deacon, but SARAH insists you see this,” Larry handed Henry a secure data drive and left the office.

  
Henry snapped the drive in place and opened the file it contained. After a moment he said, “Oh, my. Allison, please tell me none of this is true.” Henry tapped a few keys and displayed the file on the screen behind him.

  
On the screen was documented evidence that Allison had been in contact and working with Beverly Barlowe and Senator Wynn since a few weeks after that eventful Founders' Day.

  
There was evidence that the neuro-implants Allison had were used more for communication than control of Allison's body. There was also evidence that Allison had helped prepare the photonic plasma computer that the Astraeus crew was held in and that Allison was inside to monitor and assist the NPC's.

  
Worst of all, there was communication with the consortium that proved she was only in Eureka now to kidnap Nathan so they could force him to work in one of their labs or connect him to another photonic plasma computer they had built.

  
Allison visibly deflated. “They were waiting for us to get back from 1947. You know that, Grant. They threatened Kevin if I didn't work with them.

  
“No, I couldn't tell any of you. I was terrified. Kevin isn't Autistic here. He was never connected to the artifact here. They still would have taken him to ensure my cooperation, and the only one I truly trusted to protect both of us was gone.”

  
“You seriously doubted that my dad would have protected you?” Zoe didn't bother hiding her anger.

  
“I didn't doubt he would try to protect us. I doubted he could protect us. It's not like anyone considered him intelligent enough to outsmart a dangerous group of thousands of people in positions of power, all of them with higher IQ's than his.”

  
“You're not being coerced now,” Nathan said.

  
“No, I'm not. After seeing their goal with virtual Eureka and working with them since, I've come to understand what they really want, to prevent us from using science to destroy ourselves and the world. Right, Grant?”

  
“I was one of the founders of Eureka. It took over 60 years, buying it from the government, and Henry being in charge for this town to live up to my dreams.

  
“I was one of the founders of the consortium. It has never lived up to my dreams because it has become a competition to amass the greater scientific advances and the greater amount of power. The consortium no longer seeks to keep humanity safe; they seek to control it.

  
“I'm disappointed, Dr. Blake, that you have fallen for their lies,” Grant said.

  
“Nathan,” Allison turned toward him, “think about this. You and Kevin and I could be a family again like you wanted. You could research whatever you choose without oversight, interruption, or risk. It could be perfect.”

  
“How could existing as a vegetable hooked up to a machine for the rest of my life, essentially dreaming of family, love, and home, be anywhere near perfect? No actual contact with people I care about? No true life? I just escaped that, so, no, thank you anyway.”

  
“Nathan, please, Kevin and I miss you. We love you,” Allison said.

  
“Allison, where is Kevin?” Nathan asked.

  
Allison smiled, “He's at home in Eureka waiting for you.”

  
“Oh, my God!” Zoe said.

  
“Jo,” Jack said.

  
“I'm on it,” Jo said before leaving the office and issuing orders to her team.

  
Henry picked up his phone and dialed. “Zane, the consortium has another photonic plasma computer up and running somewhere, and they have Kevin Blake plugged in. I need you working on a way to find it as quickly as possible...Thanks.” Henry disconnected the call and said, “Zane is going to search for it, but it could take a while. Any chance you want to tell us where they are, Allison?”

  
“Absolutely not. My son is in a place where he's safe and can reach his full potential without fear.”

  
“Safe?” Nathan asked. “So no fire, flood, explosion, hurricane, volcano, meteor, or anything else can hurt him? No crazed human can just disconnect him without ejecting him like was done to Holly Martin? Is he that safe?” Nathan demanded.

  
“There are people watching over him and caring for his physical needs. And none of them are the psychotic, power hungry type that Senator Wynn is. Kevin is as safe as he can possibly be. And you will be, too, when I get you back there with me, Nathan.

  
“And when they learn the truth about Carter, they may even invite him to join us.”

  
Nathan shook his head, “That is not going to happen.”

  
“Well, maybe it will,” Jack said.

  
“What?” Nathan and Henry asked in unison.

  
“Think of what I could accomplish in the matrix. And if I make a mistake, it wouldn't hurt anyone,” Jack said.

  
“Dad,” Zoe said.

  
“Take Dr. Blake to holding,” Grant said to the security guard. The guard immediately removed Allison from the room.

  
“Now,” Grant said, “would you care to explain that idiotic statement, sport?”

  
“There is a bio-printed copy of my body in cryogenics,” Jack said.

  
“Yes, but I still don't see where you're going with this, Jack,” Henry said.

  
“We use neuro-implants to give me control of that body. I walk in voluntarily with Allison, you see and hear everything. We send a team to rescue Kevin and anyone else plugged in,” Jack said.

“That might actually work,” Grant said.

  
“No,” Nathan objected. “No, it's too risky. Allison said back then that she could feel Beverly's worry about getting stuck in Allison's body. What if you get stuck in the bio-printed body?”

  
“I would still be me. I would just have a newer body.”

  
“But then they would have you and Kevin, and god knows who else,” Henry said.

  
“You would have the location before I have time to get stuck in NPC me. You'll have us home before they get me plugged in good.”

  
“If they knock you out or blindfold you to get you there?” Zoe asked.

“None of us was strong enough to knock out an NPC. If they try that, I'll fake it and learn what we need to know. If they want to use a blindfold or drugs, I disconnect from NPC me.”

  
“Then they have an autonomous NPC hell bent on returning Eureka to virtual Eureka,” Nathan said. “It's too risky.”

  
“So we do nothing and leave your son in the hands of those people, hooked up to a computer, until we happen across their location 10 or 15 years from now?” Jack asked.

  
“We leave whatever Kevin's brilliant mind comes up with in their hands, Henry?” Grant asked.

  
“We can't do this,” Zoe said.

  
“We can't not do it,” Jack said. “Allison is never going to give up their location. Zane has no idea where to start looking. Jo and her team have nothing to go on except retracing Allison's steps, and Allison is smart enough to cover her tracks. This is the only option if we want to save Kevin and anyone else jacked in.”

  
“No, it's not.” Zoe said. “I've been working on a serum to aid in mental and physical relaxation for people who suffer depression and other mental issues that increase stress and cause insomnia.

  
“I haven't presented it to Henry yet because it has the side effect of making the test subjects very talkative and not at all discerning about what they say. We could try it on Allison.”

  
“It's your call, Henry,” Grant said.

  
Nathan spoke up, “Henry, please. There's no guarantee Allison was even telling the truth about Kevin being brain-napped.”

  
Henry thought for a moment before making a decision. “Zoe, have Jo administer the drug to Allison while you prepare the Carter NPC. Hopefully you're right and we won't need him.

  
“Nathan, I need you and Jack to work on the neuro-implants. Make sure nothing and no one can control that NPC but Jack.

  
“Grant, if you have any contacts that might be able to help us, now would be a good time to call them in.”

  
Henry pressed the intercom button on his desk. “Larry, contact the DoD and request security personnel. Tell them we may have a matter of national security they may be interested in.”

  
“Yes, sir,” Larry's voice replied.

~~~~~

Nathan had just finished calibrating the implants to the Z-waves for the Carter NPC. He and Jack had worked in near silence for three hours.

  
Jack said softly, “I guess if Allison were going to talk she would have done it by now.”

  
“I still don't want you to do this, Jack.”

  
“I can't believe you're willing to sacrifice Kevin for me.”

  
“It's not that. I'm not convinced she was telling the truth about Kevin being plugged in.”

  
“You think she said that to get you to go with her. Fair enough. But what if it really is the truth?”

  
“Then someone else can go in after him. It doesn't have to be you.”

  
“Yeah, it does. There's no NPC of Andy and we're the law around here. It's my job.”

  
“You're the sheriff of Eureka. They aren't in Eureka. It's out of your jurisdiction so, no, it's not your job.”

  
Henry, Zoe, and Jo entered the lab. “I don't think we're going to be needing your NPC, Jack,” Henry said. “Your daughter is as much a genius as you are.”

  
“It took two doses, but Allison finally gave us the location,” Zoe said.

  
“A DoD tactical team is on the way as we speak. They refused to allow us to go along,” Jo's voice clearly proclaimed how she felt about that.

  
“So Kevin really is hooked to that damn computer?” Nathan asked.

  
“No,” Jo said hesitantly. “According to what Allison just told us, Kevin is one of the people monitoring the new virtual Eureka. She's proud of the fact that he's the one who gives them creative problems to solve.”

  
“She also said that they successfully grabbed Fargo, Holly Martin, Tess Fontana, and Beverly Barlowe and have them jacked into the program,” Zoe said.

  
“Jo, you have to contact the DoD tactical team leader and tell him not to eject Holly,” Jack said.

  
“What? Why?” Jo asked.

  
“Her photonic processor,” Nathan said. “If she's not ejected in stages it could shut down. Permanently.”

  
Jo pulled her phone from her pocket and left the lab.”

  
“My techs are returning the Carter NPC to cryogenics as we speak. If you're finished with the implants, we can freeze them with him,” Zoe said.

  
Nathan closed the refrigerated case holding the implants and handed it to Zoe, “Thanks, Zoe.”

  
“No problem. I'll gladly see to freezing them rather than using them. See you later.”

  
Nathan ran his hands over his face after Zoe left.

  
“He's just a kid, Nathan,” Jack said softly. “He's a kid trusting his mom. I'm sure they'll take that into consideration.”

  
“He's legally an adult who is holding people against their will. At the very least, he's going to jail for kidnapping.”

  
Jack stepped around the lab table and stood close to Nathan. “Did you know? I mean, did you see something before you got back? Is that why you were more worried about me than him?”

  
Nathan took a deep breath, “A phone call. Allison said everything was prepared and the subjects could be acquired at any time. Kevin was siting beside her and looked excited.  
“I had no idea what it was about until today. God, I was hoping I was wrong.”

  
“I'm, sorry, Nathan.”

  
“You were willing to walk into an unknown situation to save him, again. You have nothing to be sorry for, Jack.”

  
“How about we find out if Zoe has time for your exam now? Then we can argue about music on the way home to watch a mindless ball game.”

  
“You really think we're getting out of here before the DoD asks us a million and one questions?”

  
Jack chuckled, “I thought it might be worth a try.”

~~~~~

Nathan was right, of course. Colonel Bishop sat down, uninvited, at the table where Jack and Henry were having coffee while Nathan was seeing Zoe.

  
“So, sheriff, you wanted to turn an NPC loose on the world,” Bishop said.

  
Jack wasn't intimidated. “I suggested we use their own technology against them. I have no desire to see that particular NPC, or any of them, ever again. I was willing to do what was necessary to rescue a young man, and possibly others, from a group of power hungry lunatics.”

  
“So you had no idea it would turn out that the young man you mentioned wasn't actually in need of rescue?”

  
“Actually, Kevin was very much in need of rescue...from his mother's stupidity. But we were too late for that.”

  
“Did you once stop to consider that Ms. Blake might be lying to you?” Bishop asked.

  
Henry answered, “Of course we did. It was a risk we couldn't take.”

  
“I know you all have persons relationships with the kid, but...”

  
“That has no bearing on this,” Henry said. “Kevin is brilliant. His brain in their hands, unwillingly in their hands, is something none of us can chance.”

  
“And have you also considered that Dr. Stark might still be in danger? That other members of this group may come after him?” Bishop asked.

  
“Why do you think I'm sitting here in denim and flannel rather than out on patrol in uniform?” Jack asked.

  
“I've assigned a five man team to protect Nathan. They'll work in eight hour shifts and shadow him from a discreet distance,” Henry said.

  
“I've already informed Rockwell that I'll be placing a couple of men in town. We'll leave your home to your protection, sheriff, and GD to your security force, Dr. Deacon. I hope that won't be a problem.”

  
“On the contrary, we appreciate the assistance, colonel,” Henry said.

  
“You think they have someone here,” Jack said.

  
“Possibly more than one,” Bishop said.

  
“Town folk or GD employees?” Henry asked.

  
“Unfortunately, both.”

~~~~~

“You were pretty intent on protecting my dad earlier,” Zoe said as she checked Nathan's blood pressure.

  
“He saved me from an eternity of loneliness worse than death, Zoe. I figure I owe him a debt I can never repay.”

  
Zoe put her equipment aside and studied Nathan. “Are you sure that's all it is?”

  
“I'm not sure what you mean,” Nathan said.

  
“Do I really need to spell it out for you, Nathan? Because it could take a while.”

  
“Spell what out?”

  
“In your report about your experience outside the time stream you said that you kept getting pulled back to my dad, even being pulled to 1947 with him. But it was Allison you were about to marry when you stopped the time loop, but it was my dad you were near more than anyone.”

  
“Once I knew he could, I was waiting for him to retrieve me.”

  
“Yeah, no,” Zoe said, sounding very much like her father. “Maybe that could be plausible for the last couple of years, but not at the start. You had no way to know and wouldn't have believed that Sheriff 111 would be able to save you.”

  
“I don't know why. I honestly don't, Zoe.”

  
“Okay. I'll concede that some things are beyond our current ability to explain, but what about now?”

  
“What about now?”

  
“You two have been spending a good bit of time together.”

  
“He's welcomed me into your home because I no longer have one. He did the same thing for Jo, if I remember correctly. Plus, SARAH is the only place you would approve for me to stay right now except here in the infirmary.”

  
“Fair enough. But that doesn't explain the two of you talking well into the wee hours every night. He didn't do that for Jo.”

  
“Your father is a considerate man, Zoe. He knows I crave interaction after my isolation.”

  
“You could interact with SARAH.”

  
“SARAH is a remarkable being, one Fargo should be very proud of, but she's not human.”

  
“There are dozens of humans in this town who would gladly talk to you for days on end. Yet you choose the man you used to despise.”

  
“Your father and I actually have a lot in common.”

  
Zoe's smirk grew with each volley in the conversation. Nathan's frown grew in direct proportion.

  
“You have science in common with 99% of the people in this town.”

  
“Science is no longer my only interest since my isolation.”

  
“Or science is no longer your only interest because it's not my dad's only interest?”

  
“I still don't see what you're getting at, Zoe.”

  
“Yes, you do. You can play dumb all you want, but it's not going to work with me.”

  
Nathan took a breath and asked the question Zoe wanted him to, the question he wanted to avoid, “Are you trying to warn me off your father, Zoe?”

  
Zoe's smirk grew even more. “You're pretty dumb for a genius. I'm trying to encourage you, Nathan.”

  
Nathan sat in stunned silence as Zoe finished his exam.

~~~~~

As Jack and Nathan reached the lower bunker door, a blue light ran over each of them from head to toe and back before the door opened. “Welcome home, sheriff, Dr. Stark.”  
“Thank you, SARAH. What was that scan about?” Nathan asked.

  
“Heightened security measures have been activated. Dinner is warming in the oven if you gentlemen are hungry,” the AI said.

  
“Thanks, SARAH,” Jack said and headed to the kitchen.

  
Nathan got drinks as Jack brought their food to the table. “SARAH, why are there only two plates?” Jack asked.

  
“Zoe called and said she would be spending the evening with Jo and Zane.”

  
Nathan rolled his eyes as the men sat down to eat. Once they were comfortable and digging in, he said, “So, heightened security? Your work, I assume?”

  
“Yeah, I kind of expected some trouble from Allison after she tried to break in earlier.”

  
“She's in custody, and you haven't returned to normal security.”

  
“This isn't over, Nathan. I'm sure Colonel Bishop told you they believe there are more consortium members in Eureka.”

  
“You expect them to make a move right after Allison was caught?”

  
“Now is when they expect Sheriff 111 to have his guard down.”

  
“I'm sorry about all of this, Jack.”

  
“You're not responsible for any of this.”

  
“Aren't I? It's me they're after.”

  
“Unless you developed some drug that turns people into power hungry morons and slipped it to every member of the consortium, then no, you are not responsible.”

  
“Too bad we can't tag them like wild animals and study their migration habits,” Nathan said.

  
“Maybe we can,” Jack mused.

  
“You've got that look that makes me want to run for the hills.”

  
Jack scowled at Nathan, “What if we could reskin Andy to look like one of the men arrested in the raid today? We find out from the prisoners, using Zoe's drug if necessary, and send Andy in to make the report. He tags this person with a chemical that spreads by touch, something we can track. We would know everyone this person deals with.”  
“Not everyone this person contacts is necessarily part of the consortium.”

  
“Granted but it would give us leads to investigate. If it works, even only partly, we could decimate their numbers.”

  
“There is another way. I could join them.”

  
“No.”  
“I could say I don't like the way Allison and Kevin are being treated since their arrests so I decided the consortium is a better option.”

  
“No.”  
“I could get information we need about them.”

  
“Yeah, unless they hook you up to a photonic plasma computer they have set up someplace else that we don't know about and can't rescue you from. And we both know damn well that's exactly what they will do if they have even the slightest suspicion about you. So, no.”

  
“We have to do something, Jack, and I'm not sure Andy can pull off what you're suggesting. He's not programmed for that type of work.”

  
“Calister,” Jack said. The flash of pain in Nathan's eyes was brief but so deep that Jack wished he hadn't said anything.

  
“What about Calister?”

  
“He could have done it.”

  
“Yes, he could, but he's gone.”

  
“Nathan, could you reprogram Andy? Or build another AI individual better suited for undercover work?”

  
“That could take years. Plus, they may monitor for AI because they know about Andy and Calister.”

  
“Then we're back to an implant controlled NPC.”

  
“I still don't think that's an option. You'll insist on being the one to go in. The only one you can easily portray without raising questions is yours, and I don't think they'll believe you want to join on your own. You know Allison won't back your play. Plus, they know she's been compromised.”

  
“Neither of us is willing to let the other walk into danger with these lunatics, yet we seem to be the only remotely feasible options.”

  
“Is there anyone else in town that you would trust to go undercover?”

  
Jack shook his head. “No one they wouldn't instantly suspect.”

  
“Jack, Colonel Bishop asked me if I would go in. He considers it safer than waking an NPC.”

  
“I'm gonna have to have a heart to heart talk with that man.”

  
“Why are you so adamant that I not do it?”

  
“I didn't spend years in two timelines working to get you back just for you to die by the hand of the consortium.”

  
“Then why did you do it?” Nathan asked incredulously.

  
“Because it shouldn't have been you who was lost. It should have been me.”

  
“I don't believe that's the entire reason, Jack.”

  
“What did you tell Bishop?”

  
“I told him no. I told him that they wouldn't believe I wanted to join them even if I promised them everything I know.”

  
“Good. That's true, you know. Even if you walked in arm in arm with Allison they wouldn't trust you.”

  
“So what do we do? Play defense?”

  
Jack nodded. “We play defense and let the DoD earn their keep for a change. There's really nothing else we can do. Nothing that will work, anyway.”

  
“Drs. Deacon and Grant are at the door. Dr. Deacon is classified as level 3.”

  
“Let them in, SARAH.”

  
“Level 3?” Nathan asked.

  
“Henry has his pocket knife. Level 3 weapon threat. Level 2 is guns. Level 1 is gas. Level X is explosives, chemical and pulse,” Jack explained as Henry and Grant entered and joined them at the table.

  
“My laser knife,” Henry nodded.

  
“Level 3,” Jack confirmed.

  
“Since SARAH didn't announce a level for Grant I'm assuming he's unarmed,” Nathan said.

  
“That is correct, Dr. Stark,” SARAH said.

  
“What's up guys?” Jack asked the visitors.

  
“Fargo, Holly, and the others are awake. None of them had any idea they were plugged in. Seems the programming has improved,” Grant said. “They're all fine, however, Holly is showing slight power surges in her processor. Grace and Zoe agree that they should level out over the next few days.”

  
“Good, good,” Nathan said.

  
“I'm guessing they had no idea who was involved since they had no idea they were plugged in,” Jack said.

  
“They don't even know how long they were plugged in,” Grant said.

  
“I, uh, I was able to have a chat with Beverly,” Henry said.

  
“Henry, you do realize that the more favors you ask of Beverly, the bigger the favor she's going to eventually try to call in,” Jack said.

  
“Maybe. Well, probably, but this one will not add to the load.”

  
“Oh, good. No, come again?” Jack said.

  
“I traded favors with Beverly this time. In exchange for five names of consortium members in high ranking positions I agreed that I wouldn't give the DoD an anonymous tip that she was the one who gave the tip that led to Grace's freedom and the apprehension and conviction of Senator Wynn.”

  
“I hope you found a way to work a loophole in there,” Nathan said.

  
“I said I would never tell the DoD. I didn't say no one would,” Henry grinned.

  
Jack and Nathan grinned, too.

  
“So she gave you the names?” Grant asked.

  
“Two more congressmen, a cabinet member, a Wall Street mogul, and a project manager at Area 51. Colonel Bishop already has the names. He doesn't, however, have the two extra names Beverly volunteered in good faith.”

  
“Because they're here in Eureka. I'm guessing Jo has those names,” Jack said.

  
“Yes, and yes,” Henry said.

  
“Is there a reason you're stalling with those names, Henry?” Nathan asked.

  
“It's Seth Osborne and,” Henry hesitated a beat, “Callie Curie.”

  
“Callie?” Jack ran his hand over his head. “Are you sure?”

  
“That doesn't mean she was before 1947, Jack,” Nathan said.

  
“Who is Callie Curie?” Grant asked.

  
“Jack and Callie dated for a while a few years ago,” Henry said.

  
“Do all your exes run straight to the consortium, sport?”

  
“I carry a gun for a living, in case you've forgotten,” Jack scowled.

  
“Shall I taser him, sheriff?” SARAH asked.

  
“Thanks, SARAH, but no, not yet.”

  
“Was that really necessary? Trent?” Nathan asked.

  
Jack hadn't see Nathan look or sound more like Dr. Nathan Stark since he'd been back than in that moment.

  
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” Grant said. “Eureka and the consortium were my dreams. You are sadly mistaken if you think it doesn't pain me to see what the consortium has become.”

  
“Look, we don't know for sure yet if either Seth or Callie is working with the consortium,” Henry said.

  
“What kind of information could either of them provide? Seth works in an off-site lab and Callie runs the dry cleaning establishment,” Nathan said.

  
“Seth could be providing information about his own research, and he has access to the GD database,” Jack said.

  
“It's possible his vilocea research could have been adapted to help keep the subjects in a comatose state while plugged into the photonic plasma computer,” Henry said.

  
“Callie is a people person. She could be sharing all the nuggets of town gossip she learns. Not to mention her invisibility research,” Jack said.

  
“Invisibility? How exactly are we supposed to defend against that?” Grant asked.

  
“Down periscope,” Jack said.

  
SARAH lowered the master control console. Jack walked over and started typing.

  
Nathan walked over and asked, “How can I help, Jack?”

  
“Access GD's security mainframe. Copy the codes I'm programming into SARAH and add them to GD,” Jack said.

  
“I really need to get together with you on what you can do, Jack,” Henry said as he moved to the console to assist.

  
“I'm not sure how I feel about you being able to access GD so easily, sport.”

  
“You should feel joy and gratitude that we're on the same side. You should also sit down and shut up so we can work,” Jack said.

  
Less than fifteen minutes later Jack said, “Periscope up. SARAH, initiate security protocol Carter 193 and activate the same protocol at GD.”

  
“Protocol activated here and at GD, sheriff,” the AI said.

  
“Thank you, SARAH,” Jack said.

  
“What exactly did you three just do?” Grant asked.

  
“GD's security, as well as SARAH's, is sensitive enough to detect the slightest movement without visual or auditory assistance. Jack just programmed SARAH to initiate a level 1 force field around any such mysterious movement, and he was kind enough to share that program with us,” Henry said.

  
“You wrote and installed code in the Global Dynamics security system that you control,” Grant said harshly.

  
“No,” Nathan snapped. “Jack wrote the code into SARAH. With your handpicked director's permission, not to mention assistance, we copied the code to GD and enabled initiation from here rather than wait an hour for someone at Global to add and initiate it. GD security is still Jo Donovan's dominion. She has, by the way, already been informed of the update via text from SARAH. No doubt, she already has Zane checking the code line by line for any possible weakness.”

  
“Why, old timer? Are you upset that you multi-billion dollar facility is secure? Or are you upset that I'm the one who provided that security?” Jack asked.

  
“Maybe he's pissed because he's resumed a leadership role in his consortium and you just threw a serious roadblock in front of him,” Nathan said.

  
“Now just a minute...” Grant began.

  
“He's not with the consortium. He just hates me that much,” Jack interjected.

  
“How can you be so sure?” Nathan asked.

  
“If he were working with the consortium, he would have recruited you or grabbed you himself; he wouldn't have bothered sending Allison. Plus, the town and GD would be full of consortium members rather than just a couple of people,” Jack said.

  
“I told you, the consortium is a disappointment to me. I don't hate you, Carter. I'm just having a little trouble trusting right now.”

  
“Especially after learning that the dumb old sheriff isn't,” Jack said. “Everyone around here will be wondering that and more about me when they hear about all this.”

  
“Jack, this town loves you. Remember how everyone reacted when you got stuck in the virtual therapy device,” Henry said.

  
“Yeah. Remember how you felt when you learned about Grace's history with the consortium? That pain, anger, and sense of betrayal? It won't be to the same degree, but that is exactly how this town is about to feel about me. They aren't in love with me, but I am the one they trusted to keep them safe. That trust will soon be gone.”

  
“You've kept them safe ever since you've been here, Jack,” Henry said.

  
“That won't matter to them when they find out that I've lied to them ever since I've been here.”

  
“As much as I hate to admit it, Jack may be right, Henry. The only way to prevent it is to take the consortium down once and for all,” Grant said.

  
“We've been discussing that,” Jack said. “There doesn't seem to be any safe way to do it.”

  
“What about Callie? What if you showed a little interest in seeing her again, Jack?” Nathan asked.

  
“There's an entire list of reasons that won't work,” Grant said. “We don't know for certain if she actually is involved so it could be a colossal waste of time. It won't help his reputation when everything comes out if she is involved with the consortium.

  
“Not to mention that it would leave him vulnerable to them. We can't have that. He is entirely too valuable to fall victim to them,” Grant said.

  
Nathan leaned back in his chair and smirked at Jack.

  
“Oh, shut up, scientist,” Jack said.

  
“What did I miss?” Henry asked.

  
“That was my same argument earlier when Jack suggested he go undercover,” Nathan said, still smirking.

  
Henry smiled, “They're right, Jack. It can't be you. Or Nathan.”

  
“But it can be me,” Grant said.

  
“No, it can't,” Jack said. “We've been down that road before; it didn't work out well. Not to mention that if they plugged you in and replaced you with an NPC they would have complete control of Eureka and Global Dynamics.”

  
“We can't just do nothing,” Grant said.

  
“I don't like it either, but we don't have much choice this time,” Henry said.

  
“Dr. Fargo is at the door. Level 2, electronic,” SARAH said.

  
“Electronic?” Grant asked.

  
“Taser,” Jack and Nathan answered in unison.

  
“Let him in, SARAH,” Jack said.

  
“Sheriff, we really have to do something about those people,” Fargo said as he rushed in.

  
“We were just discussing that, Fargo,” Nathan said.

  
Fargo jerked around in surprise. “Dr. Stark! You're alive! How? How long have you been back? Who saved you?” he gushed out.

  
“Easy, Fargo. Take a breath,” Nathan said. “That's it. In. Out. In. Out.”

  
Jack chuckled, “SARAH, I think Fargo needs some water, please.”

  
“I'm glad to see you back, Dr. Stark, but how?” Fargo said after drinking some water and pulling himself together.

  
“We'll fill you in on that later. For now, just know you have the sheriff to thank for my return,” Nathan said.

  
“In the meantime, we have all but concluded that the only thing we can do about the consortium is let the DoD handle it,” Henry said.

  
“Is the DoD back in the picture?” Fargo asked.

  
“Not in the running of Eureka, no. They're running the investigation into the consortium. The group has become a severe threat to national security,” Henry said.

  
“National security,” Grant mused aloud. “Douglas, didn't you and Holly leave to work on a DARPA project?”

  
“Yeah, we did. What are you getting at, Grant?”

  
“Sheriff, I think maybe you or Dr. Donovan should check the DARPA files for that project,” Grant said.

  
“SARAH, call Zane and tell him we need him, please,” Jack said.

  
“Can't hack the government, sport?”

  
“Oh, I could, given time. Zane is faster. Hacking is right up his alley,” Jack smirked.

  
“You think the project was a setup to kidnap them?” Nathan asked Grant.

  
“I think it's possible,” Grant said, “and if the project is legit, then we may get some idea of how long ago they were kidnapped.”

  
it took Zane less than an hour to arrive and determine that the project Fargo and Holly were recruited for never existed.

  
“Two years? Holly and I were stuck in another matrix for two years?” Fargo was stunned.

  
“Fargo, if I had known, I would have done anything I could to get you back,” Jack said softly.

  
Fargo nodded, “I know, sheriff. I just...two years.”

  
“How could they get away with it that long?” Grant asked.

  
“They learned their lesson after the Astraeus,” Henry said. “They weren't so greedy this time. Only taking a few people from different places didn't draw the same attention or raise as many questions.”

  
“Plus, they probably had fewer jacked in to keep from overtaxing the program. Few to no glitches kept Fargo and the others from suspecting there was something wrong,” Jack said.

Henry said, “I think I should speak with Beverly again. When she learns how long she may have been plugged in, she may be willing to share even more names.”

  
“Beverly gave you names?” Fargo asked.

  
Henry filled Fargo in on that portion of their information.

  
“I think you can add the secretary of defense to that list. He's the one who talked Holly into that non-existent project,” Fargo said.

  
“Damn,” Zane said, “it's no wonder we can't catch them. How much power do these asshats hold?”

  
“Not enough,” Grant said, “because Douglas just gave me the way to take them down.” Grant didn't answer one question asked of him as he walked out the door.

  
Perplexed and hitting a wall with each new idea, the men grew disheartened. Zane took Henry home, and Fargo went back to the infirmary to be with Holly.  
Nathan and Jack walked to the kitchen to get drinks.

  
“SARAH, beer me,” Jack said.

  
“Pouring now,” the AI responded.

  
“I need a Scotch please, SARAH,” Nathan said.

  
“Medical override,” SARAH said, “milk, juice, tea, coffee, sparkling water, or club soda for you, Dr. Stark.”

  
“SARAH, override Stark 1,” Nathan said.

  
“Override engaged. Pouring Scotch now. I wish you hadn't done that, Dr. Stark. Zoe is going to be highly upset with us both.”

  
“Don't worry, SARAH, I'll take full responsibility.”

“She's right,” Jack said, “Zoe's gonna be pissed. When did you do that, anyway?”

  
“When we hacked GD earlier. I knew I'd need something stronger than club soda before the night was over.”

  
Nathan leaned back against the counter sipping his drink. “Speaking of Zoe, she has this idea in her head that I'm not sure you're going to like.”

  
Jack leaned against the wall right in front of Nathan. “That's not really surprising. What's the broken record in her head this time?”

  
“She believes that I have feelings for you that run deeper than gratitude or friendship.”

  
“As in...” Jack encouraged.

  
Nathan took a swallow of his Scotch before answering, “As in I believe she's sleeping over at Jo's in the hope that you and I might do more than talk.”

  
Jack took a swallow of his beer. “Is she right?”

  
“I stepped into that chamber expecting to die. I was nearly overwhelmed with regret. The one thing that stood out was that I had pursued Allison to keep her from you rather than doing what I really wanted and pursuing you.

  
“So, yeah, Zoe's right.”

  
“Good.” Jack stepped up to Nathan, setting their drinks on the counter. He wrapped one arm around Nathan's neck and the other around his waist as he pressed his lips gently to Nathan's.

  
Nathan wrapped his arms around Jack, pulled him closer, and deepened the kiss.

  
Jack reluctantly broke the kiss and leaned back only enough to look into Nathan's eyes. “I never thought you would be remotely interested.”

  
Nathan smiled at Jack, pulled him closer, pressed a quick kiss to his lips, and asked, “In you or men in general?”

  
Jack smiled and ran his hand over Nathan's cheek, “Both, actually.”

  
“I told you a long time ago that I've swung a lot of things that would surprise you, sheriff.”

  
“Meaning?”

  
“Meaning I've swung an ax, a ball bat, female to male, top to bottom...”

  
“You? Bottom?” Jack asked in surprise.

  
“Only for the right man.”

  
“And would you bottom for me?”

  
Nathan kissed Jack again, deeper this time. “I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise.”

  
“Were you flirting with me that day, scientist?”

  
“I had to give it a shot before I left town. I should have known you were too focused on saving Fargo to think much about what I meant.”

  
“And then you stayed because Allison asked you to.”

  
Nathan shook his head. “I stayed to be near you. I knew Fargo was right. We do work well together. But then we fell right back into butting heads and competing for Allison's attention.”

  
“No, then you and Allison shut me out when Kevin was connected to the artifact. You didn't trust me.”

  
“Jack, the more you knew, the more the DoD would know. They would have taken Kevin, quarantined and studied him. That's what I told Allison to keep her from letting you in, but it's true.

  
“The real reason I shut you out is that I had no idea how dangerous the artifact could be. It was killing Kevin. It had already killed Carlson. You had nearly been killed because of it. I could not risk losing you.

  
“I shut you out, Jack, you and Henry both, to protect you from the artifact and the DoD.”

  
“Nathan, risks like that are part of my job. You can't shut me out because something is dangerous, especially because we're together.”

  
“You and I went volcano hunting together. I didn't shut you out of that to protect you. But the artifact? There is nothing in any of our job descriptions about that kind of danger.  
“I had to protect Kevin, and I had to protect you,” Nathan said as he ran his hands up and down Jack's arms.

  
“Okay, I understand why you did it, but you can't do it again. You can't stop me from trying to shut down the consortium just because you're afraid for me. As much as you hate the idea of losing me, I hate the idea of losing you...again. Especially when I just got you back and in my arms,” Jack pulled Nathan closer and kissed him.

  
Nathan broke the kiss. He leaned his head back as Jack began kissing his neck and sucking his ear lobe. Nathan moaned and said, “You asked if I would bottom for you, sheriff. What do you say we go upstairs and I show you?”

  
“No,” Jack said between licks and nips at Nathan's neck.

  
Nathan pulled back, “No?”

  
“No,” Jack said as he ran his hands down Nathan's chest. “I'd rather see if you'll top for me tonight, scientist.”

  
Nathan grabbed Jack and kissed him. He picked Jack up and hummed as he felt the sheriff's legs wrap around him. He started toward the stairs as Jack resumed his sensual assault on Nathan's neck.

  
By the time Nathan reached Jack's bedroom, Jack had worked both their shirts off. He laid Jack down on the bed and began kissing and sucking on Jack's nipples as he worked on removing both their pants.

  
When they were both naked, they stretched out on their sides and just took each other in. Jack ran his hand down Nathan's chest and stomach. “I didn't think we'd ever be here together like this.”

  
“I'm just sorry it took so long. I'm sorry I was so stupid, Jack.”

  
“Oh, my god. You just called yourself stupid again. You'd better make love to me quick, scientist, before the world ends,” Jack teased.

  
Nathan moved closer to Jack and kissed him deeply and passionately.

  
Jack pulled Nathan on top of him. As he reached into the nightstand drawer for supplies, he wrapped his legs around Nathan's waist again.

  
Nathan growled as Jack slid a small bottle into his hand. He pulled away from Jack just long enough to pour the thick liquid on his fingers.

  
Jack spread his legs and threw his head back as Nathan rubbed slick fingers over his hole and watched in amazement as Jack reacted to being breached by his large finger.

  
Nathan almost immediately found Jack's prostate, causing Jack to have the most wonderful reaction of moaning Nathan's name, flushing a beautiful shade of red, holding Nathan tighter, and grinding down on Nathan's finger.

  
Nathan leaned down and began sucking on Jack's nipple as he slid a second finger into Jack, easing both fingers in and out, being certain to rub over Jack's prostate each time.

  
Jack's moans got louder, his grinding on Nathan's fingers got harder, and his hold on Nathan got tighter. Jack was floating on the pleasure. It had been a long time since he'd experienced this particular thrill, a thrill made even better because it was Nathan Stark touching him, stretching him, about to take him. He pulled Nathan up and kissed him as much to ground himself as to encourage his lover.

  
Nathan was amazed and even more aroused by Jack's responses. When the sheriff kissed him, he nearly climaxed. No one had ever had such an effect on him. He knew without a doubt that no one ever would. He began pushing and spreading his fingers faster and harder, twisting his wrist and gaining even more of those beautiful moans and gasps of his name from Jack.

  
“Now, Nathan,” Jack gasped as he pulled Nathan back on top of him, “I'm ready. I need to feel you inside me, scientist.”

  
Nathan growled and settled between Jack's legs. He slowly pushed himself in, giving Jack time to adjust to the feeling. “God, Jack, so good. So damn good,” Nathan moaned in Jack's ear.

  
Jack wrapped his legs tighter around Nathan and thrust his hips up to the scientist to encourage him to move.

  
Nathan got the message. He pulled nearly all the way out and pushed back in almost as slowly as he first took Jack. When Jack slapped his ass, Nathan lost all hesitation, and nearly lost his mind, and began thrusting hard and fast. He moaned loudly when Jack grabbed his face and kissed him as they moved together.

  
They held each other tightly as the pleasure built. Each thrust, each kiss, each touch fueled their desire.

  
Jack came first. He clung even tighter to Nathan, every muscle in his body contracting with his release, as he cried out his lover's name.

  
Nathan came then, his body reacting to Jack's as his mind soared on waves of pleasure. After their bodies had calmed some, Nathan pulled out of Jack and collapsed onto the bed close to his lover. He laid his arm over Jack as they cooled off.

  
“I love you, Jack,” Nathan said.

  
Jack rolled over and kissed Nathan. “I love you, too. As a matter of fact, I love you enough to have spent years getting you back.”

  
Nathan smiled and hugged Jack to him, making sure the sheriff couldn't see how wet his eyes were.

~~~~~

The next few days were peaceful. The DoD moved Allison and the other consortium members they had arrested to a maximum security detention facility. Jack, Henry, and even Grant had been willing to speak on Kevin's behalf, but Nathan had asked them not to. He had spoken to Kevin privately and was disappointed to discover the young man's devotion to the consortium and their cause.

  
“Seriously, dad,” Kevin had said in an attempt to recruit Nathan, “if science were monitored correctly at GD, you would never have been taken from us for so long.”

  
Nathan had spent the next two hours in Jack's arms on the couch, fighting tears for the son who was no longer his.

  
On that second day, Zoe gave Nathan a clean bill of health and cleared him for work and to live his life with no restrictions.

  
Henry offered Nathan a company car and a house. Nathan accepted the car, but opted, after talking with Jack, to stay with the sheriff. Neither wanted Nathan to leave.

  
Zoe offered to apply for a company house so her dad and Nathan could have privacy. Both men assured her she was wanted there and not an intrusion on their privacy.

  
“Zoe, this is your home. Please, don't leave because of me,” Nathan had said.

  
It was the day that Nathan was to have returned to work that they nearly lost him again. Jack found Nathan's car on the side of the road as he drove toward town after SARAH informed the sheriff that something was happening with the scientist's vehicle.

~~~~

“Calm down, Carter. We will find him,” Jo said. “They don't have that big a head start, and we already have all the roads out of town blocked. They can't get far.”

  
“This was planned down to the last second, Jo. There's no way they didn't plan on a way to get past roadblocks undetected.”

  
Jack answered his ringing phone, “Carter.”

  
“Jack, it's Henry. Satellite images show a late model, black, Ford Expedition leaving the tree cover less than three minutes after Nathan entered the tree cover. It headed back the way Nathan came. They beat the roadblock by half an hour. It pulled behind a barn just inside the EM barrier and hasn't moved since.”

  
“Thanks, Henry,” Carter disconnected the call. “Come on, Jo. We may have gotten lucky.”

  
“Alpha Team, with me,” Jo called out. Three SUV's with four men each followed Jo and Carter away from Eureka.

  
The five vehicles surrounded the barn. There was no Expedition anywhere around.  
“This makes no sense,” Jo said. Where the hell did they go?”

  
“Chief Donovan, you should see this,” called one of the team members.

  
Jo and Carter walked over to see what Jo's man had found.

  
“Son of a bitch!” Carter swore as he and Jo saw what the man was talking about. They saw a cat playing with a mouse. The cat's tail and hind legs were invisible.

  
“Callie Curie's invisibility formula? I thought that only worked on organic material,” Jo said. “How did they get it to work on an SUV?”

  
“Either they rejiggered the formula or someone provided them with Fargo's organic polymer wrap,” Jack said. “Either way, they're gone and we have no way to track them.” Jack hauled off and kicked a crate sitting near the cat.

  
“I'll call Henry and fill him in. He'll want to see if any of that skin is missing,” Jo said.

  
Jack nodded at Jo and turned to the nearest member of her team. “This entire area needs to be searched for anything out of place. Don't trust your eyes. There's no telling what that formula will work on now.”

  
“Yes, sir.”

~~~~~

Nathan woke to find that he was strapped to a gurney, had an IV in the back of his hand, and had a device affixed to his head.

  
“Hello, Dr. Stark.”

  
“Callie Curie. How in the world did you get involved with this group of criminals?”

  
“We're not criminals, Dr. Stark. We're good people doing what others can't or won't, looking after the safety of the world.”

  
“Kidnapping is a crime. You kidnapped me. That makes you criminals. Plus, I don't see kidnapping as looking after my safety.”

  
“That is an unfortunate but necessary evil. Your genius can help the world. You can contribute to making it a better, safer place. We would like for you to join us freely, but, as you see, we are fully prepared to have you join us the hard way.”

  
Callie walked closer and put her hand on Nathan's arm. “Think about it, Nathan. You could be part of the movement that saves humanity, or you can simply be another tool that movement uses to get the job done. You can make a difference with us or we will use you to make a difference. Which way would you rather be remembered?”

  
“You can do the right thing and let me go or you can put me in your damn computer program. Either way, you can go to hell,” Nathan said.

  
“I told you he'd be a tough nut to crack,” Kevin Blake said as he walked around from behind Nathan.

  
“Kevin?” Nathan said. “The DoD moved you to a maximum security facility days ago.”

  
“Yeah,” said another Kevin Blake walking into the room. “One of us had to be sacrificed thanks to mom being stupid enough to get caught.”

  
“Clones,” Nathan said, “all with the real Kevin's drive and intelligence. Which one of you is the original?”

  
“Bio-printed NPC's, actually. The original Kevin is nice and comfortable in a biopod just like the one you're about to occupy. He's in another location connected to another program, however,” Callie said.

“You do realize that Carter will not stop until he finds me,” Nathan said.

  
Callie and Kevin and Kevin smiled. “That's exactly what we want,” one Kevin said.

  
“In fact, we left a few good clues to lead him here,” the other Kevin said.

  
Callie added, “We have a biopod right beside yours reserved just for him. We were really hoping you would join us and then help talk him into joining us. Even if he refused, you could at least make it easier on him.”

  
“I have a better idea,” one Kevin said. “Join us, Nathan. Help make it easier on Carter as we plug him in. Then you can help us guide his experiments from control.”

  
The other Kevin spoke then, “Or you can watch as he fights us and loses, watch his pain when I plug him in without a tranquilizer, watch him suffer for hours as our program takes over his mind. Then you can watch as I load him on a transport and take him to a location far away from you.”

  
“I seriously doubt any of that is going to happen,” Nathan said. “Don't feel bad though, you aren't the first to underestimate Sheriff Carter.”

  
“All of it is going to happen, well, except moving him to another location,” a stranger said from behind Nathan. “As I understand it, you two work too well together to split up.

  
“I'm Adam Barlowe, Dr. Stark. Your friends aren't the only ones who know how to build the bridge device.”

“You're the head of the consortium,” Nathan said. “No wonder we couldn't figure out who it was.

  
“You put your own daughter in the program?”

  
“Of course not. Beverly is running another location. Your people rescued another NPC.”

  
“Holly and Fargo?” Nathan asked.

  
“Fully human. We're going to have to get them back at some point,” Barlowe said.

  
“Why are you putting people into a computer program and stealing their work if your goal is world safety?”

  
“It's simple, Dr. Stark,” Barlowe said as though Nathan had asked the stupidest question. “The patents we will own will prevent the governments of the world from using those inventions in developing weapons. Those inventions can then be put to use in negating the impact of weapons that already exist.

  
“When the threat of catastrophe is gone, the world will be safe. Surely you can see that?”

  
“I think you mean that when the threat of current weapons is gone and science is under your control that you will have control of the world. What I see is a bunch of power hungry monsters no different than the power hungry monsters who currently control the world,” Nathan said.

  
“You don't see the difference because you're too wrapped up in serving the real monsters,” Callie said. “You didn't care how invisible agents could be used. You just cared that the DoD wanted it.”

  
“I'd much rather our government have the upper hand over a government that sanctions flying airplanes into buildings full of innocent civilians,” Nathan said.

  
“And we'd rather see no government have the upper hand. We'd rather see them taking care of and providing for their people instead of preparing to murder another country's people in the name of national defense,” Barlowe said.

  
“That would be ideal, but it's not the world we live in,” Nathan said.

  
“That's just it. It can be the world we live in. It will be our world when we're done,” Callie said.

  
“There are two many people satisfied with the way things are for you to succeed,” Nathan said.

  
“That's why we're fighting fire with fire,” a Kevin NPC said.

  
The other Kevin NPC added, “If the world were ideal we wouldn't need to cut corners the way we do.”

  
“I wouldn't call stealing people's minds and lives cutting corners. It's worse than outright killing them,” Nathan declared.

  
“That is regrettable, Dr. Stark,” Barlowe said, “but sacrifices must be made. You already know that. You sacrificed your family to continue your pursuit of science. We are sacrificing some lives in the pursuit of world peace and safety.”

  
“Mr. Barlowe, they're bringing the sheriff in now,” someone said from the doorway.

  
“You have until he's wheeled into this room to decide if you will us him and help him, or lie there and watch him suffer,” Barlowe said and left the room.

  
“What's it going to be, dad?” one of the Kevin NPC's asked.

~~~~~

Jack, Henry, Jo, and Grant sat looking at the monitor on the wall behind Henry's desk.

  
“Does this seem just a little too easy to anyone else?” Jo asked.

  
“Which part? The hotel matchbook at the barn, Fowler not using a fake name to check in, his being easy to convince to talk, or the program being run on the Portland power grid?” Jack asked.

  
“Subtlety never was one of Adam Barlowe's virtues,” Grant said. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is a trap for me.”

  
“It's a trap, all right, but not for you,” Jack said. “If he wanted you he would have left discrete clues only you would pick up on.

  
“Taking Nathan, leaving clues that could only be found by someone investigating the scene, Fowler only being willing to talk to me...I'm the one this trap is for.”

  
“That means he's going to have every possible entrance covered in the hope that you will go running in half cocked,” Jo said.

  
“So how do you go in?” Henry asked.

  
“I'm running in half cocked right through the front door...just as soon as I thaw out,” Jack said.

~~~~~

“Seems Sheriff Carter wanted to protect his investment in you, Nathan,” Callie said as they rolled a gurney in with Jack on it. “He walked right through the front door alone in the vain hope of saving you.”

  
“Nathan, are you okay?” Jack asked.

  
“I'm fine, Jack. What the hell were you thinking coming here like this?”

  
“I had a plan,” Jack said.

  
“I truly hope your experiments in our program go better than your plans, sheriff,” Barlowe said.

  
“I should have left you trapped in that truck in 1947,” Jack said.

  
Adam was surprised. “You pulled me out? Seems like fate keeps bringing us together. You really should consider joining us, Jack.”

  
“Like I said, I should have left you trapped.”

  
“It's lucky for the world that you didn't,” Callie said.

  
“How did you get involved with this nutjob, Callie?” Jack asked.

  
“It was Allison who introduced me to Senator Wynn before the Astraeus project. Did you know I was on the ship during the launch making sure the ground crew didn't regain control? That was actually fun.”

  
“Have you met the multiple Kevin NPC's yet?” Nathan asked to keep Jack from going off on Callie. He knew the Astraeus was still a sore spot for Jack.

  
“No, but we did find out about the Beverly one they planted with us. It malfunctioned when Parish tested one of his nonlethal weapons. I have to say, I was surprised at some of the names it started spewing out, even the vice president,” Jack said.

  
“Damn it,” Barlowe said. “I told Beverly not to include more than seven names on that one's programming.”

  
“Now!” Jack yelled.

  
Nathan almost couldn't keep up with what followed.

  
Jack seemed to pass out for no reason. Adam Barlowe and Callie Curie both fell to the floor with tranquilizer darts in their necks. A brief, nearly blinding flash filled the room. Both Kevin NPC's and another body fell unconscious and hit the floor. Sounds of rapid movement, gunfire, and shouts from elsewhere in the building filled the air.

  
Nathan felt a hand touch his arm as he heard Jo Donovan's voice, “It's okay, Dr. Stark. It's Jo. EMT's will be in to unhook you and the others as soon as the building is secured.”

  
“Jo, check on Jack,” Nathan said as he turned his head toward the sheriff's unconscious body while Jo slowly became corporeal beside him with a syringe in her hand.

  
“I'm fine, scientist.”

  
Nathan looked in the other direction to see Jack leaning against the door frame wearing a skintight, black body suit with contact electrodes on it.

  
Jack nodded toward the body that looked like him. “I told you I'd be useful,” he said as he came forward and began unhooking the IV and brain monitoring device from Nathan.  
Nathan hardly noticed that four other people had suddenly appeared in the room or that medical personnel were entering.

  
“You used their own brain-to-brain interface, your NPC, and Callie's invisibility formula against them. I told them you wouldn't be trapped so easily,” Nathan grinned.

  
“I wasn't going to be trapped at all because that would have meant not getting you back.”

  
When the last strap was removed, Nathan sat up and pulled Jack into a passionate kiss.

  
Jo, her team, and the medical personnel quietly left the room.

  
It was nearly three hours later and half past midnight before Zoe cleared Nathan to go home. Jack, worried, frightened, relieved, and grateful to have the scientist back, took all his emotions out on Nathan in bed. Nathan had never enjoyed bottoming more. It was nearly dawn before the men, exhausted and sated, fell reluctantly to sleep.

~~~~~

Jack stepped up onto the rotunda and turned toward Henry's office. He smiled when he heard a familiar, deep voice behind him.

  
“Sheriff.”

  
“Scientist.”

  
Jack and Nathan bumped arms as they walked. That was as much public affection as they would display when one or both were working.

  
“Where ya headed?” Jack asked.

  
“Henry's office. He called and said he wanted to see me.”

  
“Yeah? Same here,” Jack said. “I wonder what's up?”

“I guess we're about to find out.”

  
Larry waved them in. Henry was sitting at his desk. Jo was on the couch. Grant and Colonel Bishop were seated in front of Henry's desk. Jack and Nathan walked over and leaned on the handrail in front of the window.

  
“Now that we're all here,” Henry began, “Colonel Bishop would like to talk to us.”

  
“Eureka is no longer under the purview of the DoD, but the consortium is still a matter of national security and therefore falls under the NDA's you all signed when you began your employment here,” Bishop said. “I want to be certain we're clear on that before I say more.”

  
After everyone agreed, the colonel continued, “Thanks to your efforts and the computer skills of Ms. Donovan's husband, we acquired the names and locations of 75 active NPC's, over 500 consortium members, and nearly 200 scientists jacked into 55 photonic plasma computers.

  
“The NPC's have been dealt with. Don't ask how. You won't like the answer.

  
“The consortium members have been arrested for treason. They will never see freedom again.

  
“Those who were plugged in spent varying amounts of time in the programs. Some are already home. Others are being kept for observation. Their health is our main concern.  
“There is, however, a troubling issue that has arisen. The man they call Adam Barlowe claims to be the Adam Barlowe arrested and convicted in 1947 for stealing classified documents from Eureka during the time it was being officially established.

  
“He claims that his daughter and the other consortium members used those plans to build a machine that enabled them to travel to 1948, break him out of jail, and bring him to the present.

  
“He also claims, Dr. Rockwell, that you are actually Dr. Trevor Grant and that you were kidnapped and brought to this time on the same night he stole the plans.

  
“That was also supposed to be documented on their computer. It doesn't seem to be there now, and Dr. Donovan claims there was nothing like that in the files he opened.”

  
Nathan chuckled. “As someone who was forced to spend some time in that man's company, Colonel, I can attest to the fact that he is a lunatic.”

  
“You'll get no argument from me on that, Dr. Stark,” Bishop said. “He also says that Allison Blake can not only verify his claim, but identify the other kidnappers who brought Dr. Grant to present day.

  
“Only one person besides myself knows of Barlowe's claims. That person has been promoted, and, somehow, the recording of that particular interrogation has vanished. I do hope I don't come to regret that,” Bishop said as he looked into each set of eyes in the room.

  
“I see no reason why you should, Colonel Bishop. You still have Blake to back him up, after all,” Grant said.

  
“I have no intention of wasting my time interrogating Allison Blake or anyone else about something as far fetched as time travel,” Bishop stated.

  
“What about Kevin Blake, Colonel?” Jack asked. “Can we see him soon?”

  
“I'm having him transferred here under Dr. Carter's care next week. He'll need medical supervision for a while, but he is happy to be out of the matrix, as he calls it, and anxious to come home.”

  
“He knows about his mother?” Nathan asked.

  
“He does, and he's rightfully furious,” Bishop said. “He's been cleared of all charges. He's free to live his life once Dr. Carter is satisfied that he's healthy.

  
“Sheriff Carter, how did you know about the vice president? The Barlowe NPC never gave us his name.”

  
“That was just good deductive reasoning. It fit what I was hearing when they were strapping my NPC onto the gurney. Apparently the VP planned to help replace the president with an NPC.”

  
“Full access to world leaders and thinkers? There would have been no stopping them then,” Henry said.

  
“Yes. Somehow losing video of the interrogation of a lunatic bent on world domination hardly seem thanks enough for helping us prevent them from succeeding,” Bishop said. “This nation is in your debt.”

  
Grant said, “I wrote a paper on Trevor Grant once. He was a founding member of the consortium. If I judge the man correctly, he would be disgusted by what the consortium has become. He would also be grateful to you for your help in stopping them.”

  
“That's very good to know, Rockwell. Are there any other questions I can answer for any of you?” Bishop said.

  
“Are you certain all the NPC's are out of commission?” Jo asked. “Those things are not easy to deal with.”

  
“My men are loading the Carter NPC from your cryogenics lab as we speak. By this time tomorrow, the only bio-printed body to remain will be that of Dr. Martin,” Bishop said.  
“How many more members of the consortium are still out there?” Jack asked.

  
“Unknown. We do know that we have all the hierarchy in custody. Any members still free do not have the power to cause any significant trouble. It will be decades, if ever, before they pose a real threat again.”

  
Jack nodded his head. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was better than the answer he expected.

  
Seeing that no one else had questions, Bishop rose. “We know now that most of the trouble Eureka has experienced in the last decade can be directly traced to the consortium. We also know those troubles are over. If you ever find you are in need of funding, Mr. Rockwell, the DoD is willing to return.

  
“In the meantime, I thank you for your assistance and wish you the best. Ms. Donovan, gentlemen,” Bishop nodded and left.

  
There was a collective sigh of relief when the door closed behind the colonel.

  
“Oh, thank God,” Jack said as he leaned over bracing himself with his hands on his knees.

  
“We definitely dodged a major bullet,” Jo said.

  
“I thought we were goners when he started talking about time travel,” Grant said.

  
Nathan broke their PDA rule and rubbed his hand over Jack's back. “I'd say that's one man we never want to make angry.”

  
“Agreed,” Henry said. “Nathan, could you give me a hand tomorrow? I want to go over all active projects and shut down anything that might draw DoD attention.”

  
“Gladly,” Nathan said.

  
“I'm glad my investment is in such capable hands because it's probably best if I stay far away from here for a while,” Grant said.

  
“With your permission, Henry, I'd like to run extensive security checks on all GD employees,” Jo said.

  
“Hopefully Mayor Deacon won't mind if Andy and I do the same for the citizens of Eureka not employed at GD,” Jack said.

  
“As much as I hate it, Henry and Mayor Deacon approve after what we've just been through,” Henry said.

  
“Like I said, capable hands. Call if you need me, my friends.” After shaking hands with all four, Grant left GD and Eureka.

  
“Given the workload we will all be facing tomorrow, I suggest the four of us take the rest of the day off,” Henry said.

  
“I second that,” Jack said. “Besides, I think we owe that husband of Josephina's a drink. And a lot more.”

  
“He definitely saved our asses,” Nathan said.

  
“Again,” Henry added.

  
Jo smiled proudly. “Just don't tell him that. His ego's almost as big as Stark's already.”

  
“Seems like my anti-ego serum really is a good idea,” Jack teased Nathan.

  
“Very funny, sheriff,” Nathan growled.

  
“It's not meant to be, scientist,” Jack smirked.

  
“You'll pay for that when we get home,” Nathan smirked back.

  
“I'm looking forward to that,” Jack smiled.

  
“Oh, God,” Jo moaned as she rubbed her forehead, “I really do not need those images in my head.”

  
“I second that,” agreed Henry. “Let's get Zane and head to Cafe Diem.”

~~~~~

The group, after dragging Zane from his current project, settled in the cafe. They had just given Vincent their orders when Zoe entered with Holly and Fargo.

  
“Mind if we join?” Zoe asked.

  
“Please do,” Henry said.

  
After they rearranged two tables and a few chairs and Vincent had taken the late arrivals' orders, Fargo said, “It really is good to have you back, Dr. Stark. This place wasn't the same without you.”

  
“Thank you, Douglas, and I think it's about time you start calling me Nathan.”

  
Jack sat beside Nathan trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile behind his water.

  
“Oh, no, I couldn't do that,” Fargo protested.

  
“I'm not your boss anymore, Douglas, we're peers. And you certainly are not the same accident prone, too-eager-to-please young man who was my assistant. There is absolutely no reason for you not to call me Nathan.”

  
“Thank you, Nathan,” Fargo beamed.

  
“That actually goes for everyone at this table. I refuse to answer any of you if you call me anything besides Nathan.”

  
“Really, scientist?” Jack asked.

  
“Shut up, sheriff.”

  
Everyone laughed at the two geniuses.

  
“Please tell me you're all so happy because the consortium has been destroyed,” Zoe said.

  
“Well, we don't know about destroyed, but I'd say decimated pretty much describes it,” Henry grinned.

  
“I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that. This brain-napping stuff is getting really old,” Holly said.

  
“I don't know whether to be grateful or offended to be the only one they didn't target,” Zoe said.

  
“Grateful, definitely grateful,” Jack said. “I know I am.”

  
“Given the lack of a bullseye on my back, how was I not a suspect?” Zoe asked.

  
“You were in high school the first time we had to deal with them and away at college the second time. This time,” Jack hesitated, “they planned to use me to grab you.”  
“With the security measures your dad had in place around you, they never had a hope of getting to you,” Nathan said.

  
“They got to you, and I'm sure my dad had the same security measures in place for you as for me.”

  
“He did. I disabled them,” Nathan said.

  
“Behind my back,” Jack scowled.

  
“You used yourself as bait,” Holly said. “That was really brave, Nathan.”

  
“More like stupid,” Jack growled.

  
“Jack is still a little upset about that,” Henry said.

  
“ A little?” Zane asked sarcastically.

  
“Try totally pissed,” Jo said.

  
“It worked, didn't it? We're all safe and sound, and we no longer have to worry about being brain-napped.

  
“Besides,” Nathan continued as he reached for Jack's hand, “I knew you wouldn't stop until you saved me...again.”

  
Jack brought Nathan's hand up and kissed it. “Next time I have to save you I'm kicking your ass afterward.”

  
“Deal,” Nathan said before leaning over to kiss Jack.

  
“Excuse me,” Zoe said as she used her hand to block her view of Nathan and her dad, “I thought you two had a strict rule about PDA.”

  
“We do. No PDA when either of us is working,” Nathan said.

  
“And right now, neither of us is,” Jack said and kissed Nathan again.

  
“Get a room,” everyone else at the table said at the same time.

  
Everyone laughed,

~~~~~

Kevin stayed with Zoe, Jack, and Nathan until he left for MIT the next year.

  
Zoe and Lucas reunited when Henry hired the young man away from Cern. The couple moved in together a month before Kevin left for school.

  
Fargo and Holly remained in Eureka studying the effect of extended FTL flight on simple organisms.

  
Jo and Zane and Grace and Henry became parents.

  
Jack and Nathan married.

  
Life in Eureka was good.


End file.
